


Hope Dies Last

by spookyawards_archivist



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-05-03
Updated: 2003-05-03
Packaged: 2019-04-27 06:27:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 35,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14419548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookyawards_archivist/pseuds/spookyawards_archivist
Summary: Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived atSpooky Awards, and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address onSpookyAwards' collection profile.





	Hope Dies Last

**Author's Note:**

> Note from alice ttlg, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Spooky Awards](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Spooky_Awards), and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [SpookyAwards' collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/spookyawards/profile).

 

Hope Dies Last

## Hope Dies Last

### by Montana1416

Title: Hope Dies Last  
Author: Montana 1416  
Rating: R   
Classification: X-Files: MSR, AU, X-File. Stargate SG1: J/D Preslash, Meridian Fix of sorts, AU. Distribution: Anywhere is ok, but let me know. Spoilers: A bunch, for both shows but I can't remember them all. Let's just say through the Truth for the X-Files and Abyss for Stargate. Spoilers for X-Files MSR Fictions Mac and ...And So It Begins, both may be found at [www.Gossamer.org](http://www.Gossamer.org/) Summary: Shortly after the Truth, Scully disappears and Mulder turns to an old friend to help find her. Along the way he meets Dr. Daniel Jackson and Colonel Jack O'Neill and must join them in the fight against a group of aliens trying to change Earth's future in order to get Scully back. Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully belong to 10-13 Productions, Fox, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson... Jack and Daniel belong to Glassner/Wright, MGM, Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They are being used without permission, and without profit. No infringement on the rights of their owners is intended. I just wanted to play! Penny McAllister and Brian Harold are mine. Note: I may have played with the timelines (just a bit) of each Universe to fit the story. Feedback: Yes!!!!.  
Many to Randi for facing the  
great beta challenge...have I gotten any better? 

Hope is a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible. H.L. (Henry Lewis) Mencken 

* * *

World War II  
Dover, England  
"There they are Doo." Gene Baldwin said as he pulled the binoculars from his face and pointed through the windshield toward the northeastern night sky.   
"Well, would you look at that, it looks like a fire flickering across the sky." Mark Dooley said in awe as he got up and leaned closer to the windshield and stared in the direction Gene was pointing.  
"It's really unusual for them to be this far south. Must be some storm out there in space," came Gene's response as both men continued looking out the cockpit window.   
"Mac, you getting this on film!" Doo yelled back to the crew's reconnaissance photographer Don McAllister.   
"Yeah, Doo, I'm on it!" Mac yelled back.  
"Gentleman, the aurora is a swell sight but do you think we could get back to the business at hand - like getting our asses on the ground in one piece." Captain John Merewether said, looking pointedly at his co-pilot and his navigator.   
Doo responded as he moved back to his rightful position as the plane's navigator and away from the window he had been admiring the light show through. "Sure Cap but a poor southern boy like me has never seen such a sight. Besides, we're over the cliff's now."   
The Captain chuckled. "Doo, you're so full of it, poor southern boy my eye. Anyway, HQ said the Jerry patrols are heavy tonight. We're alone out here without the rest of the group so I need everyone on alert. I don't want to run into a patrol because you're looking at the pretty lights instead of navigating us to a safe landing." Before Doo could reply the three men in the cockpit heard the crackle of the radio.   
"Sully was that HQ?" The captain asked the crew's radioman Pete Sullivan.   
"No, Cap, I could tell it wasn't HQ but not much else it was really garbled. Besides we're on radio silence because of all the patrol activity. Could be a Nazi trick." The radio crackled to life again.   
This time the listeners could make out and American Accent. "Is anybody out there? Hellooooo!"   
"Maybe HQ is trying to tell us something..." Gumdrop started to say from his waist gunner position beside Sully but was shushed before he could finish.   
"Shhh! Listen up!" Sully said as he leaned closer to his radio. The radio crackled with static.   
The captain said after a moment, "Just in case there's trouble we'll take the alternate route to base." He and Gene shifted the plane's position slightly to the northeast. The dancing light of the aurora was directly in front of the aircraft. The radio again crackled to life.   
"This is the Lucky Lib, Papa, Echo, Gold, 476 requesting final approach to Watton Field," said the voice from the radio.   
"Cap did you hear that?" Sully asked incredulously.   
"Yeah, Sully, break radio silence find out who's using our call sign and giving away classified field information."   
Sully got right on the task. "This is the Lucky Lib calling unidentified craft using this channel. Please identify yourself and..." Sully didn't complete his message.   
Out of his small window he saw three Meserschmidts approaching from the southeast. "Cap we got problems at about 7 o'clock."   
The next thing Sully saw out his window was the Meserschmidts hit what he could only describe as an invisible barrier. "Holy Cow! Doo, quick take a look at this, those mezzies are just falling out of the sky. Mac, you got any film left? Do you see this?"  
Mac nodded, he was already snapping pictures as Doo quickly made his way to Sully's window. Through his camera lens he could see the fighter planes tumbling toward the ground. Then with the camera's eye he traced the path directly up from the falling planes where he noticed a shimmering against the night sky. To his mind the air shimmered like heat rising off of the hot brick pavement of his Florida hometown in the late summer.   
As Mac, Doo and Sully looked on; the shimmering air moved toward them causing the plane to shimmy and shake thus causing Mac to lose his grip on his camera. Doo made his way back to the cockpit being jostled from side to side as he went. He arrived in time to see Cap and Gene lose control of the aircraft. As the nose rose upward, the plane started to climb. The abrupt ascent had crewmembers hanging on to whatever was available to stop them from tumbling to the tail section of the plane. Bolt's rattled loose, ammo rolled down the isle, glass started to shatter, as the plane was being virtually sucked spaceward.   
"Oxygen!" The captain shouted.  
The crew struggled to place their O2 masks over their noses and mouths. Suddenly, the plane dropped, descending as quickly has it had risen. The sundry of articles that had rolled to the tail section were now rolling toward the cockpit. The Captain, Gene and Doo watched in horror through windshield as the plane raced to meet the ground, their efforts to stop the dive useless the engines had cut off and the plane was at a dead stick. Abruptly the decent stopped, the plane came to a halt and hovered about five feet off the ground. The terrible shaking started again rocking the plane too and fro as if someone were shaking the plane; like it was a gummed-up salt shaker, trying to break the crew loose and out of the plane. Quickly deciding that the roller coaster ride they had experienced was about to begin again the captain gave the order for the crew to abandon the craft. The captain waited for the rest of the crew to jump to safety before he jumped joining them on the ground. They watched as the plane rose into the night sky and disappeared. Leaving her crew abandoned in a dark field somewhere in England, safe and unharmed but bewildered and befuddled by their experience.   
Airplane Graveyard  
Tucson, Arizona  
March 2001  
The stillness of the airplane graveyard was disturbed as the air shimmered against the backdrop of dazzling red light provided as the Aurora danced along the northern horizon of the desert sky. A B-24 Liberator dropped out of the sky, kicking up dust and sand as it settled into it's new resting place among the rows of other long dead warplanes. A static sound came from inside the plane as if someone were keying a mic as a test to insure the system was working and not damaged by the jolt of hitting the ground.   
Helena, Montana  
March 2001  
The air above the tree line shimmered to life as a large alien craft emerged from nothingness. The craft looked like a bright light as it traveled quickly from its origin point through the night sky. The light neared the ground then came to a halt in a clearing just beside a small highway. The light rose back into the night sky and then vanished making the air above the open field shimmer. Before the light faded out of sight it illuminated a man's body left lying naked on the ground.   
Airplane Graveyard  
Tucson, Arizona  
June 2002  
The light from a clear desert night sky cast an eerie glow on the airplanes sitting row upon row in their desert graveyard. Most were in some state of disrepair and all of them had been long dead. Two silhouetted figures topped the wall surrounding the graveyard.   
"You ok Scully?" Fox Mulder's voice broke the silence.   
"Yes, Mulder just give me a hand down. And remind me again what we're doing here." Scully replied trying her best to sound annoyed as she pointed the beam of her flashlight at the ground below.   
"Ah Scully, this is going to be great, we had to get away from the lights of the city to get the best view of the auroras. This place is perfect; we're away from the lights and just think of all the history in these old planes." He said as he jumped down off the wall and then reached up to help her down from where she was perched on the wall.   
"Mulder, I hope you're not disappointed, but this is really too far south to see the auroras." She said looking Mulder in the eye as he gently lowered her to the ground beside him.   
"Ah, right you are Dr. Scully or should I say usually you would be right but back in March, 2001," Scully shivered involuntarily, the date brought back bad memories of Mulder lying dead on the ground in Helena, Montana. Mulder reading her thoughts reached out and drew her closer to him then continued. "An enormous wave of ionized gasses struck the earth's magnetosphere. The wave was created two days earlier by a titanic coronal mass ejection on the sun. That tidal wave of particles funneled down from the earth's magnetic field to the upper atmosphere. So right here in Arizona the desert sky glowed like a neon sign. I read in the paper today that the same conditions are present tonight."   
Scully still looked skeptical.  
Mulder said quietly, "I've missed so much Scully and the aurora's are something..." he didn't get to finish his sentence because as he looked northward through the rows of planes he could see red lights dancing just on the edge of the horizon.   
"Look at that Scully." Mulder stood behind Scully with his arms wrapped around her and his chin gently resting on the top of her head as they stood and watched the light show streaking across the night sky. Once the lights faded something caught Mulder's wondering eye. "Wow, Scully that's a B-24 Liberator. It's looks to be in great shape from here. Let's go take a closer look." He grabbed Scully's hand and hurried over to the old plane.   
Scully laughed, thinking how much like a kid Mulder seemed. First watching the lights, now rushing her toward an old warplane looming just a few yards away. She wanted to be annoyed that she had let Mulder talk her into climbing the wall surrounding the huge graveyard, but in the end it was all an act. In fact, she had seen the aurora's when Mulder was in the hospital recovering from an alien retrovirus in Alaska and she had to admit they were really unique. She had also loved the air shows that had come to the various bases she had lived on during her childhood. It had been far too long since she and Mulder had been able to do anything this relaxed. After all, they had been on a personal Def Con One since Mulder's death sentence was handed down at the travesty that had been called a military tribunal. Mulder's subsequent break from the brig had been followed by their rumored deaths at the hands of the faceless men in unmarked black helicopters. Luckily, Mulder and Scully had vacated the ancient Anasazi pueblos moments before the helicopters swooped down and totally destroyed the old dwellings. Life on the run was a necessity so that the truth of their greatly exaggerated deaths would not fall into the wrong hands. Carefree; seemed to be a far off land, so tonight's little escapade into a desert graveyard to see the auroras and old airplanes was a welcome breather.   
Scully loved everything about Mulder, but his need to investigate the unknown and always search for the truth was the part of him that she loved best. As they reached their destination, Mulder spied a workman's ladder propped against the side of the aging plane. The night sky seemed to produce an almost ethereal glow over the old B-24, like a benevolent spotlight without the eeriness projected in the rest of the yard.   
"I'm just going to take a look-see inside, Scully, seeing that someone was kind enough to leave us a ladder." Mulder said as he reached out with his free hand to grasp the ladder.   
Scully let go of his other hand as he started his ascension up the ladder. She watched as he reached the top then disappeared through the opening in the side of the plane. It wasn't long before Mulder urged Scully in an excited tone to come up the ladder and join him.   
"The inside is in amazing shape, Scully, it seems to have all of the original equipment." Mulder reported as Scully climbed the ladder.   
"Mulder I hate to ask this, but how would you know what equipment was standard on a B-24 bomber." Scully challenged. As Scully reached the top of the ladder she leaned in and peaked through the opening to see Mulder sitting at what appeared to be a radio consol just to the left of the opening.   
"Colonel McAllister." He replied to her question a little absentmindedly as he fiddled with the radio's knobs.   
"Colonel McAllister?" Scully queried waiting for more of an answer.   
"Yeah, he was one of my neighbors growing up, an Air Force Colonel, I used to hang out with his three daughters. He was real airplane buff. He used to take me to all the air shows on base and we would spend hours studying all the old warplanes. The B-24 happened to be his favorite because he had been a reconnaissance photographer on the crew of a B-24 during World War II. He had this story about a B-24 called the Lucky Lib that he used to tell. One night coming back from a special mission the crew spotted the auroras just as they crossed over the Dover Cliffs to England; next thing they knew, they got a strange call over the radio and then they spotted three German fighters right on their tail but then the air around them kind of shimmered and the fighters just dropped out of the sky. As they watched the fighters fall something took over the Lib and he said it was like a giant roller coaster ride the whole crew thought they were goners but just before hitting the ground the plane stopped and let the crew get out and then it vanished into thin air." Mulder concluded his story and looked at a skeptical Scully.   
"Oh Mulder that's a great story, he made that up."   
"No Scully, he actually didn't like to talk about it, but when Sam disappeared he told it to me so I wouldn't feel like I was crazy. I always liked Colonel McAllister, he just wanted me to know that sometimes crazy and unexplainable things do happen even to the most rational of people." As Mulder finished his explanation the radio squawked to life. "Look it's actually working." He said then spoke into the microphone said. "Is anybody out there? Hellooooo! This is the Lucky Lib, Papa, Echo, Gold, 476 requesting final approach to Watton Field."   
"Mulder, is that really safe what if the police pick up that ca..." Before Scully could finish a garbled reply came through the speaker.   
"Th...is... th... Lu... Li... c... un...fie... cr... us... th... cha... Pl...id...yo..."   
Mulder again spoke into the microphone "Lucky Lib repeat your last transmission."   
Then looking directly down at Scully he said, "It's all harmless Scully, no police use this low band frequency anymore its probably just some kids with an old CB radio. Come on up the rest of the way Scully I want to show you the ball turret." He said as he waggled his eyebrows up and down.   
Making Scully laugh and climb the last two rungs of the ladder.   
The radio squawked to life again this time sounding like an open mic. "Awww....Ox...Awww...sh...."   
He said to Scully, "see they're just playing along." He chuckled as he let go of the mic and moved toward the door to help Scully over the threshold of the opening. Sounds continued coming from the radio "shhhh...awww....crrrrrr.....shhhh....   
The radio blipped out. Scully reached up to take Mulder's hand touching him when she vanished. Mulder's head exploded with a headache that knocked him to the cabin floor. His mind was overwhelmed by images from two different timelines for the last nine years one with Scully, and one without her. As the pain receded, he opened his eyes and looked around.   
"SCULLY...SCULLEEE..." he yelled rubbing his eyes and then desperately scurrying down the ladder thinking that she had fallen. No sign of her on the ground around the old warplane. "SCULLEEEE... SCULLEEE..." His desperate yells echoed throughout the graveyard. He knew what he had seen; yet he couldn't bring himself to believe it. Scully had vanished into thin air, but no one vanished into thin air she must be here. Mulder scrambled back up the ladder into the plane searching it thoroughly for any sign of Scully. No sign of her. He frantically searched around the area of the plane and then retraced the path they had taken over the wall back to the where the car was parked. Mulder's stomach sank when he opened the car door and there was no evidence that Scully had ever been his traveling companion. The book that she had been reading was gone, her sweater; gone, the small bag she had on the passenger side floor; gone. He reached down and pulled the small lever beside the driver's seat that opened the trunk. He walked to the back of the car, lifted the trunk lid and found one suitcase, his. All traces of Scully had disappeared. Mulder felt more and more panicked, he had no idea of what to do or where to turn. How could a person and all proof that they had existed just disappear? Alien abduction came to mind, but he had experienced no time loss only that intense headache and two sets of conflicting memories. Anyway, aliens were not known to stop for luggage and other personal items he reasoned.   
He took out his cell phone, turned it on, and started to dial; damn, the people he most wanted to talk to were dead. His mind drifted as he imagined the conversation.   
*"Lone Gunman." The voice at the other end answered. Mulder froze at the sound of the voice on the phone he didn't know why he had dialed their number probably just force of habit. In need of information call the Lone Gunmen. How could this be? They were dead. Was this more help from beyond the grave? He thought of Alex Krycek helping him; first to escape Mount Weather and then giving him information at his tribunal, weeks earlier.   
"Hello, although I appreciate the heavy breathing, speak- or I'm going to hang up."   
That was definitely Frohike's voice. Mulder decided to take a shot and asked, "Frohike, do you recognize my voice?"   
"Yeah you're my favorite Fed. How's it hangin' Mulder?"   
"Frohike what's my partner's name?"  
"Mulder, what's with you?"  
"Please, just answer the question. Who's my FBI partner?"  
"You don't have a partner, Mulder you're the lone wolf of the FBI's X-File Office."  
A sense of dread came over Mulder. "So, you don't know Dana Scully?"  
"No, Mulder, should we?" John Byers voice came on the line.  
"She's been my partner on the X-Files for give or take nine   
years." Mulder said in a stressed out tone.  
"Mulder you haven't had a partner since Diana Fowley left and that was about 11 years ago...so you're sounding a little scary here." John Byers said calmly.  
"Yeah. What kind of peyote are you smokin' out there Mulder" Langly chimed in.  
Mulder's mind was racing. "Listen can you guys do me a favor and find out about a Dana Katherine Scully, DOB 2/8/64. I'll call you back in one hour."   
"Sure Mulder." Came the answer from the trio before he hit the off button on his cell.*

Daydreaming conversations with the dead was definitely not getting him anywhere. He needed to do something real, he couldn't call Skinner, he had put everything on the line for Mulder during the trial and then breaking him out of the brig, involving him would be too risky. Mulder needed to go somewhere to sort out this new set of memories, see if they held a clue. Earlier that evening he and Scully had checked in at a small motor in outside of Tucson; he would go there. As he drove his mind wandered back to the Lone Gunmen. *"Lone Gunmen." This time it was Langly on the other end. "Langly, It's Mulder any luck with that name?" "No, Mulder we can't find anything on a Dana Katherine Scully. Is she another victim of that airplane graveyard case you were working on?" "Yeah, in a way."  
"Well, if you want my opinion I still think that space time continuum or alternate reality theories are your best answer Mulder... "Ah, Langly get off of that Star Trek crap already. It's more like that Frequency movie anyway." Frohike interrupted. "Frequency? That's lame. And it's not Star Trek crap, they're bonifide theories of quantum physics and right now the atmospherics in that part of the country are ripe for glitches in space time." Mulder didn't interrupt their argument. Actually, he thought Langly made some sense. He couldn't think of a better explanation and right now he felt like he was on a cross over episode between Star Trek and the Twilight Zone. The plot of which revolved around breaking the temporal prime directive and being left to wonder if he had disappeared from Scully's universe or if she had disappeared from his. He was drawn out of his thoughts by the sound of Frohike's voice, "Earth to Mulder." "Hmm, oh sorry." Mulder answered.  
"I thought you were going to check out Langly's notion with one of those Oxford Professors of yours." John Byers joined the conversation. "Yeah, I'll do that, Thanks fellas, I can take it from here." Mulder said out loud to the empty car. "Mulder, call if you need us." Byers sounded concerned as his image appeared in the passenger seat beside him. Mulder blinked and Byers was gone.* Motor Inn of America  
Outskirts of Tucson, Arizona   
Mulder became aware of the Motor Inn's neon sign winking at him in the distance. He checked to make sure the room was secure before lying on the bed and closing his eyes. His imaginary conversation with the gunmen foremost in his thoughts had him wondering, what professor could he call at Oxford that would know about space/time as the Langly in his head had called it? Who could he call? Mulder fell into a fitful sleep tossing and turning as he played reaching out for Scully's hand over and over again in his mind each time with the same result a blinding headache and a vanished Scully. Mulder gasped for breath waking with a start, he looked at his watch he had been asleep for less than an hour. He sat up as a thought struck him he didn't need to call Oxford, he knew someone much closer that might be able to help him find Scully. Now that he had an idea of where to start he needed to move, to do something. He had to know if Penny McAllister were still in Colorado, if she was, he'd have a head start, if she weren't, he really wouldn't have lost anything by heading in that direction. He got up, went to the Manager's Office settled his bill and then got in his car to drive north to Colorado and find Penny. He hoped she still lived in Colorado Springs. He'd call Penny in the morning. As he thought about Penny he realized that she was in both sets of memories, which led him to wonder if for some reason something had tried to erase only his memories of Scully. Somewhere in Arizona   
As he settled in for the long drive to Colorado Springs a thought occurred to him. All of his memories from the last nine years; meeting Scully in his basement office, Scully's abduction, working cases together on the X-Files, his Father's death, his Mothers death, finding out what happened to Samantha, being abducted, tortured, dead and then resurrected, William, having to leave, reuniting with Scully, his trial and conviction, the last two weeks with Scully, were intact. Those memories felt right, but what if they weren't real. The other set of memories floating in his head had him still with the FBI and no Scully in his life. If these memories were true the events he remembered with Scully would never have occurred. No wonder all of the Captain's of the various incarnations of the Starship Enterprise complained of headaches thinking about the space-time continuum, alternate realities and time travel. He had to stop comparing himself to fictional characters and thinking about which memories were right and which ones were wrong. It just served to confuse him, so he was going with his gut and assuming that the memories he had with Scully were the right ones and that he was exactly where he was supposed to be. All he needed to do was somehow correct something to make Scully come back. Changing the subject in his head, he reflected how peculiar it was that he had thought of going to Penny for help. When he was being tortured in the alien spaceship he had made up a whole scenario to keep his mind occupied during hours of excruciating torture. It was a fantasy X-file, so to speak. In the dream, he had gotten Scully's ova back from Kurt Crawford, then with the help of his sister-in-law Dr. Caroline McAllister-Reese; a fertility specialist and Penny's older sister, and using invitro fertilization Scully had gotten pregnant and delivered twins. The dream hadn't been too far off of reality; after all, Scully had been pregnant with William when he was abducted. His felt a pang of guilt and remorse as he thought of Scully making the decision to give William up for adoption. He had thought by leaving them, he was protecting them. It turned out that the only way to protect their son was to give him up. Scully had exceptional strength, he didn't know if he would have been able to make the same choice. In his dream they had not had to make that choice. That black-lunged son of a bitch Spender had ordered the kidnapping of one of the twins, his newborn daughter, and that's where the dream had ended. Each time he was tortured, he replayed the story in his head and each time the end was always the same Spender would order the kidnapping and then nothing. Why did his dreams always end badly? In real life, other than an annual Christmas message left on his answering machine, he hadn't thought much about the McAllister sisters in recent years. In fact, tonight when Scully had asked about his knowledge of the B-24 was the first time since his abduction that he had thought about the family. They had helped him through the dark days after Samantha had disappeared by including him as part of their family; when his own family had been falling apart. It must mean something that one of them was in his fantasy world, helping him. He looked out the windshield at the road ahead and thought of Mac, the youngest of the sisters and his best friend. She had died of cancer at such a young age. Even now, thoughts of Mac were bittersweet. He had been with her at the end as her husband, marrying her just days before she died in a small hospital ceremony that her mother and sisters had helped him plan. New Mexico   
Mulder had been driving for quite some time when he realized that the sun was rising and he needed to stretch his legs and make his phone call to Penny. Getting out of the car at the rest stop he scanned the area for pay phones rare in this day and age, but a lot safer than using his cell. At this moment he was really thankful for his photographic memory and hoped the number hadn't changed. The pay phones were just inside the restaurant, housed inside the main building of the rest area. Mulder fished a couple of coins out of his pocket. Placing the coins in the phone and hearing the connection he dialed the number. The phone on the other end was ringing...one...two...thr.. "Hello." a man's voice answered. For a second Mulder considered hanging up but then decided to hell-with-it and spoke to the man on the other end. "Hello, is Penny McAllister there by any chance?" He asked hopefully. "Yeah, um, hold on a minute and I'll get her." The man replied. Mulder could hear the man call out to Penny and heard the static as the phone was picked up again. "Hello" Penny answered.   
"Penny, it's Mulder."   
"Mulder?"   
"Yeah, Penny, Mulder."   
"Is it Christmas, have I missed something?" Mulder smiled, he deserved that remark; in any reality, but he could also hear the amusement in her voice so he replied in kind. "No, it's not Christmas, but the world is ending, so I thought I'd come out there and see you." "Ah... so you want to spend your last minutes on earth with me, I'm touched Mulder. Seriously, how are you and why are you calling?" "I'm fine, but I am going to be in Colorado Springs and was thinking we could catch up." "Mulder, I'd love to see you, that'd be great, when are you coming and how long are you going to be here?" "Today and not sure."   
"So, you'll stay here. You can have the spare room." Great, he thought but then thought of the man that answered the phone so he asked, "Your friend won't mind?" "My friend?" She sounded puzzled.   
"The guy that answered your phone, Penny." He reminded her. "Oh no, Mulder that was my neighbor Daniel he was just over using my coffee pot because he knocked his off of his kitchen counter this morning, so I'm pretty sure he won't mind if you stay with me...but I could ask..." She laughed. Mulder smiled. This was the Penny he knew and loved and she was still a smartass. "Penny, I'm driving now, see you this evening, what time do you get off work, so I don't show up too early." "Tell me what time you think you'll be here and I'll be here." Looking at his watch he figured out his arrival time and relayed it to her, "About 5:00 or so..." "Ok, I'll see you then."  
"Penny thanks."   
" No biggee Mulder but you might want to wait to thank me until after you've seen the spare room." With that she hung up the phone. Day 1   
Colorado Spring, Colorado   
Penny looked at her neighbor contently sipping his coffee and wondered why Daniel didn't just have an intravenous line for coffee. "That was odd." She remarked.  
"Hmm. What?" Daniel asked distractedly. Penny continued almost as if she was thinking out loud rather than talking to Daniel. "Mulder is coming for a visit. A friend coming to visit isn't all that odd, but Mulder coming after like, 10 years, that, is odd. I wonder what's happened." Daniel interrupted her stream of consciousness ramble, "Is there something I've missed in the last four years living next door? Are you always this suspicious or is there more to this Mulder than your saying? Like old boyfriend or..." "No, not old boyfriend, old childhood friend, actually old brother-in-law, he's my younger sister's widower, and really bad at keeping in touch. You know that Sarah McLachlan song, "Building a Mystery". That's Mulder. So I'm left wondering why the visit out of the blue, that's all. I guess, I'll find out when he gets here." She shrugged. "So, he's a mystery?" Daniel asked trying to follow her thought pattern. "No, he's a beautiful fucked up man." She stated matter-a-factly as she let the topic go. "Oh." Daniel smiled finally seeing her point. Daniel had liked Penny from the moment he moved in next-door four years before. In one respect she was a lot like Daniel, in that, she always wanted to know why. And this Mulder person certainly seemed to present her with something to puzzle over. Penny was one of those women that had no idea the effect she had on the men of the world. He thought she was a lot like his SG1 teammate Samantha Carter in that respect. Penny stood about 5'10", she was slightly overweight; but the extra pounds gave her figure soft curves. Her auburn hair was shoulder length; her complexion fare and she had gorgeous green eyes. Daniel had once noted that she didn't date much. He thought it was because she had beauty, brains, and the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves, a lethal combination. All in all, he had pegged her as physically intimidating and emotionally vulnerable. Daniel learned the truth of Penny's love life quite by accident a couple of days ago. She was in love with Colonel Brian Harold, her partner at the U.S. Space Command; a man whose wife had been lingering in a coma for almost a year at the Air Force Academy Hospital as the result of a training accident. "So is your car still in the shop?" She asked changing the subject. "Yes, which reminds me Jack'll be here any sec. I have to go. Thanks for letting me confiscate your coffeepot." He replied as he headed toward the door. "Give Jack a hug for me." Penny winked. Daniel just rolled his eyes as he walked out the door. Penny had this absurd notion that he and Jack were soul mates. Even as strange a notion as it seemed the thing was Daniel couldn't deny there was a certain pull between he and Jack. Penny wasn't the first person to notice the intensity of their relationship. However, she was the only person that had actually said it out loud. One evening after having dinner and a lot of wine with he and Jack, she had told him, that they argued like an old married couple and that she thought in another reality they probably were. Wouldn't the military like that? Daniel stepped off the elevator on the ground floor thinking about Jack, which caused him to bump headlong into the man himself. Jack put his hands on Daniel's shoulders and gently pushed him back to an arms length. "Whoa easy Danny boy, I was just about to come up and roust you out of bed, I've been calling your apartment for the last five minutes." "I was next door at Penny's, I broke my coffee pot this morning so she let me use hers." Daniel explained. "Ah..." Jack said knowingly. Daniel without his morning coffee was no fun. "How is the lovely Penny Mac this morning?" "Good, she said to tell you "Hello"." Daniel smirked knowing Penny's real message. "So back to P3X whatever today and the Kelownan's, the fun never stops." Jack sounding a little more bored than he actually was by the mission. An undefined something on the first day of this mission had made his nerves jangle. He had tried to shrug it off and chalk it up to being around a bunch of politicians and geeks, but he still had this nagging bad feeling. Realizing Daniel was talking to him he tuned out his thoughts and tuned in to the younger man. "... can't let those people make the same mistake we did, thinking that being able to destroy their rivals a hundred times over equals a greater peace. We really need to get the point across that weapons of mass destruction are no good unless you use them." Daniel urged. He knew that he and Jack came from two diametrically opposed backgrounds, but he thought that one thing Jack had come to realize since their first mission to Abydos was that peace at gunpoint was really no peace at all. As Jack unlocked the truck door he surprised Daniel by simply saying, "I know Daniel." Penny watched the two friends from her bedroom window. She knew that Jack and Daniel had hit a rough spot in their friendship as of late. What had really surprised her four years ago when she first met Dr. Daniel Jackson, archeologist, anthropologist, linguist and Egyptologist, was that he and United States Air Force Colonel Jack O'Neill were friends at all. Then she got to know them. Their chemistry was almost tangible. When she first noticed "it", she wondered how she could have such an outlandish notion that two heterosexual men should be romantically involved. More and more over the years she realized that they had; "that certain something", that made two people just seem right together; they clicked. Jack and Daniel together caused a chemical reaction that produced no small amount of unresolved sexual tension. At present they seemed to be at the "perpetually annoyed at but can't live without you stage" in their relationship. The truck carrying Jack and Daniel started down the street. Penny laughed at the absolute ridiculousness of her thoughts. Better to obsess over Jack and Daniel than spend time worrying about her own screwed up love life, that was a whole different ballgame. Turning away from the window she looked at the clock on her nightstand; it was already 7:30 am. Project Q was on a countdown today. Although Penny held the rank of Lt. Colonel in the USAF Reserve, she was actually a civilian consultant at the U.S. Space Command doing research in quantum physics and an instructor at the U.S. Air Force Academy. She bustled about, putting on a suit before practically flying out the door of the apartment to ensure that she would arrive at her U.S. Space Command lab on Peterson Air Force Base before her ranking partner. US Space Command  
Time Lab   
"Penny are you ready? Colonel Brian Harold said as he entered Penny's lab. "Yes, We're on a three minute countdown to the flare." Penny replied taking a glance at her partner. He was gorgeous. Tall, well built; although his uniform hide most of his body's finer features, sandy brown hair and hazel eyes that at one glance seemed to be alight with gold flecks then in the next filled with intense dark green hues. Returning her concentration to the consol in front of her that housed all kinds of monitors and gadgetry, she watched the countdown clock carefully. She flipped the switch her left hand was resting on from closed to open as the clock hit zero. The speaker in front of her crackled to life. The sound of loud static filled the air. Pushing in the microphone button with her right hand, Penny bent toward the consol. "Project Q-1-9-8-9 this is Project Q-2-0-0-2 come in please." "Project Q-2-0-0-2 we're reading you 5 by 5. Today's code please." Came the answer from the other side. "Merlin, Q-1-9-8-9." Penny responded.  
"In response, Gandalf, Q-2-0-0-2." The disembodied voice answered. "Q-1-9-8-9, sun flare activity will close the wormhole in 30 seconds good talking to you, out." Penny smiled. "Out Q...." The rest of the message died. "So, how was the trip?" Colonel Harold teased as he smiled down at his scientist partner then placed his hands on her shoulders much like a manager would a boxer who had just gone 2 rounds and was sitting in the corner of the ring waiting for round 3. Penny looked up at him, "Frustrating." "Penny you have made a huge breakthrough just being able to predict the solar flares that occur in precisely the same space and time, now and then. You, talk to the past. Remember, baby steps." Brian encouraged. Penny swiveled her chair to face him. "I know but it's so frustrating we know the theory works. Einstein predicted that time could be made to fold back on itself allowing time travel. The sound waves go through the wormhole created by the solar flare. I say a few words to Thomas in 1989, the past, and he gets to talk to me in the future, but I still don't understand... it should work in the other direction too. I can make all the right predictions, do all the math and...tsk...I should be able to talk to the future." "So, why do you think they haven't contacted us?" Brian asked thoughtfully. Penny knew Brian meant "they" as in the future she and Brian; also known as Project Q. "I honestly have no idea, maybe we lose our funding." Penny laughed but there was no mirth in it because her answer was so plausible. The government was not known for its patience with scientific projects that they couldn't blow something up with or parlay into dollars. Changing the subject Brian told Penny he'd meet her for lunch as he left for his office. Lunch was their daily ritual. They had would meet up and go to lunch either in the Mess Hall or somewhere close by the base. Today they were meeting at Penny's. Brian knew that when Penny volunteered to make lunch at her apartment something was definitely wrong because Penny hated anything to do with the kitchen. Lunch was waiting on the table when Brian arrived. The aroma of the food made his stomach growl, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he was a condemned man about to eat his last meal. He had been sensing that even after six months of having a semi-established relationship Penny was still very much ill at ease. Getting Penny to agree to their relationship had been a delicate operation. Penny was one of those women that seemed to be perfectly content on her own. He would come to find out that the reality was she was very conscientious and really hadn't found what she was looking for and refused to simply settle. Brian spent months trying to figure out what it was she wanted. All his efforts paid off when he finally saw a glimmer of hope for a real relationship, but he knew things were tenuous because of the limbo in which he lived. During lunch neither wanted to venture to far from a conversation of mainly small talk about movie's they had seen and the latest base gossip. They had already had one talk about their situation and it seemed that another one was in the works. Brian was content to let things lie but he knew Penny's conscious was bothering her so he just waited for the other shoe to drop. It smacked him up side the head as Penny told him about Mulder's upcoming visit. "I may just teach my Quantum Physics classes at the Academy tomorrow and not come into the lab; since we have no activity scheduled for tomorrow, but I'll let you know." She told him. "So he's going to stay with you?" Brian inquired. "Yes, in the spare room." She replied and waited for him to get the picture. "What you're telling me in your very subtle way is we won't be seeing much of each other outside of work until he leaves." She nodded. She really hated talking about their relationship but she decided Mulder's visit gave her a perfect excuse and there was no time like the present they had just drifted along for too long. "Look it's bad enough that Daniel figured out our "relationship" and you know how much like a vulture I feel...I mean Lynn is in a coma, Brian, and as much as I love you, I refuse to wish for Lynn to just give up. I know that she's for all intents and purposes gone and that you haven't pulled the plug or feeding tubes for her parents sake, but I don't want people to look at me in, you know the "she stole that poor woman's husband while she was helplessly lying in a coma" way. Not that Mulder would ever judge me but I guess, I judge me, I'm not a good cheat or liar, so please help me." She wasn't able to stop the tears from running down her face as she thought of Lynn, lying in a coma unaware her husband had fallen in love with someone else. Stop crying, she told herself, don't let him see you like this; be tough. "Don't cry," he said, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "Everything will all be okay." "No, I don't think it will," she said, in a shuddering voice. She felt trapped, unable to move in either direction. Her love for Colonel Brian Harold was on one side, her own sense of honesty and integrity and to a lesser extent her obligation to U.S. Air Force were on the other. There was nowhere they could go, no solution other than to give each other up until things were resolved. "Don't feel guilty about this," he said, his voice cracking. "I'll never forgive myself if you do . . ." "I'm sorry but I do, Bri. Look, I love you more than I've ever loved anyone, but . . ." "But?" Brian's voice was soft.  
"But this feels like we're dancing on her grave, we shouldn't be together, we should just walk away." "I know," he finally said in a resigned voice. "I know." She reached up and smoothed his hair. "You made vows to her that you need to honor." Brian turned to her and gave her a bitter smile. "Yes, I have vows to honor," he repeated. He looked at her with a mix of tenderness and sadness. Brian hadn't meant for any of this to happen. Until the accident he had fully expected to be married to Lynn for the rest of his life. Penny had been his partner and a good friend to both of he and Lynn before the accident. He hated that she felt so guilty that their relationship had become so intense over the last months. But it had been over a year of waiting and knowing that Lynn would never recover and he needed to go forward with his life and he wanted Penny. " Penny you're the most honest and decent person I know, and I can't walk away not when I know you're the one. So for now, I'll give you some space but just remember I love you. Have a good visit with Mulder." He turned and walked out of her apartment, knowing that she would refuse to see him outside of work from that moment on. Colorado Springs   
Mulder's trip to Colorado Springs had been uneventful, if you call being left alone with your thoughts - two sets of thoughts - and trying to sort them out for 10 hours uneventful. In the first few hours all he wanted to do was turn around and go back to the airplane graveyard and search for Scully. A gut feeling stopped him from turning the car around. That same gut feeling that he couldn't define or deny keep him moving toward Colorado Springs; it seemed as if he was being told from somewhere beyond that the answer to Scully's disappearance and how to find her was there. Once he'd made up his mind to follow his gut he actually made pretty good time. When he had called Penny from the payphone at the I-10 rest stop just west of Las Cruces, New Mexico that morning, he'd only been guessing at his arrival time. Pretty good guess he thought to himself, he'd always told Scully he'd never been wrong, at least driving. He smiled. Using the directions Penny had given him he made his way to her apartment. Penny couldn't concentrate when she got back to work after the talk she and Brian had so she taught her class and then cancelled her office hours and headed home early. First checking for messages on the answering machine and seeing none she went into her bedroom to change from her work clothes to a pair of faded jeans and a pale mint green v-neck tee shirt. As she emerged from her bedroom both the phone and the doorbell rang. She grabbed the phone on her way to the door. "Hello." She said into the receiver.   
"Hey Penny, I need a favor." Daniel's voice came through the line. "Hi, Daniel, hold on a sec." She said as she opened the door, to a Fox Mulder that seemed a little older, a little ill at ease and something she couldn't quite place standing in the hallway. "Mulder!" She flashed him a dazzling smile that immediately put him at ease. "Come on in ...make yourself at home...let me just finish on the phone real quick." She said as she waved him into the apartment and the living room. "K, Daniel, What's up?"   
"I'm sorry Penny I know your friend just arrived. And I wouldn't ask and really this wouldn't have mattered had we left for our mission on time, but I'm stuck here on base because we're on weather stand-by, and I really need the translation book that is sitting on my coffee table. I don't have my car, Jack's in a meeting and the mission will go as soon as whatever atmospheric problems clear, so I can't wander off the base. Soooo, I was wondering if you'd like to meet us for dinner at the Mess Hall in the NORAD Visitors Center and bring me the book." Daniel explained hopefully. "Breathe, Daniel and hang on a sec. Mulder, would you mind meeting some friends of mine for dinner tonight?" Penny asked her guest who from his prone position on her couch was having no problem making himself at home. "Sure, that sounds great, I'm starving." Mulder said through a yawn. "Ok, Daniel I'll bring your book. Is half an hour at the Visitors Center, ok with you?" She inquired. "Yes and thank you so much Penny." Daniel said before hanging up the phone. He couldn't believe he had forgotten the book. Yesterday he'd given Jonas Quinn; one of the Kelownan scientists, a book to read and help him with translating the writings on the Kelownan's Goa'uld temple. Last night going through his books at home Daniel found one that might be better. In his panic over his broken coffee pot this morning, the book had slipped his mind. Lucky for him Penny was a good neighbor and a Lieutenant Colonel. "So Mulder com'ere and give me a hug." Penny said as she put the phone down on the pass through ledge to the kitchen and walked over and tugged Mulder off of the couch and to his feet. "How are you, you look really tired. Are you sure you want to go out after being in the car all day?" He hugged her tight and replied. "Yeah, I'm starving and if my memory serves me correctly you have nothing in your frig but an assortment of soft drinks." Penny laughed he hadn't forgotten. She never liked to cook and he was right she had condiments and cold drinks in the frig, not much else. "Ok. So you know me. Why don't you go freshen up and I'll run next door and get the book Daniel needs, then we can go." She said breaking their embrace and pushing him toward the bathroom. Penny rifled through the kitchen drawer in which she had last seen Daniel's Apartment key. After retrieving it from under a several pizza coupons she went next door seized the book from the coffee table. When she returned Mulder was ready to go. They got in her car as she explained to Mulder they were going to meet Daniel at Cheyenne Mountain Air Station. "Isn't that where NORAD is?" He asked. She nodded and explained to Mulder, "Although Cheyenne Mountain is best known for housing NORAD, technically it is the, Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center or CMOC and it's truly one of the most unique installations in the world. Apart from the fact that it's housed 2,000 feet underground, CMOC is also different from most military units because it's a joint and bi-national military organization comprised of over 200 men and women from the Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, and Canadian Forces. Its operations are conducted in seven centers manned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. CMOC serves as the command center for both NORAD and USNORTHCOM. It is the central collection and coordination center for a worldwide system of satellites, radars, and sensors that provide early warning of any missile, air, or space threat to North America. Supporting the NORAD mission, CMOC provides warning of ballistic missile or air attacks against North America, assists the air sovereignty mission for the U.S. and Canada, and if necessary, serves as the focal point for air defense operations to counter enemy bombers or cruise missiles. In addition, CMOC also provides theater ballistic missile warning for U.S. and allied forces. In support of USSTRATCOM, CMOC provides a day-to-day picture of precisely what is in space and where it is located. Space control operations include protection, prevention, and negation functions supported by the surveillance of space." Penny finished her spiel. Mulder smiled and said, "I guess I don't need to sign up for the tour." Penny laughed.   
Cheyenne Mountain Air Station   
The Marine at the guard station saluted Penny; the military sticker on her windshield told him that she had security clearance and that she was an officer, as she and Mulder entered Cheyenne Mountain Air Station. Passing through the checkpoint she drove a few more yards on NORAD Road before turning the car into Visitors Center Parking lot. The mess hall Daniel referred to on the phone actually served as an informal O Club for the Air Station. After all, Visitors were only allowed to tour on Thursday's so the Military decided to put the Visitors Center to good use everyday. As they entered the club Daniel waved them over to the table where he and Jack we're seated. "Hey, Penny." Daniel said as they approached the table. "Hi. Daniel, Jack, let me introduce an old friend of mine Fox Mulder. Mulder this is Dr. Daniel Jackson and Colonel Jack O'Neill." The two men stood up and shook hands with Mulder and offered their nice to meet you's. Mulder noted that there were no insignias on their uniforms. "I thought Sam would come with you all." Penny said as she sat down. "No, she was occupied working on some doohickey or other and was eating at her desk." Jack answered. Mulder had been looking at Daniel like he was trying to recall where he knew him from and then the light of recognition came to his face. "Are you the Dr. Daniel Jackson that wrote the paper about cross-pollination of ancient cultures and something about the pyramids as landing platforms for UFO's?" Daniel was a little flabbergasted. It was rare that someone outside of the archeological community knew about his paper. "Yes, that would be me. How did you come to know about my work?" Daniel inquired. "Oh, you could say it's kind of a professional curiosity for me." Mulder replied rather cryptically. "I thought Penny told me you are an FBI Agent." Daniel said. "Yes, I am." Mulder said thinking; rather than go into the whole I was but I resigned a year ago but since yesterday depending on which memory bank I use, I seem to be an agent once again, he just simply say yes. "I'm with a unit at the FBI called the X-Files, my partner and I investigate the paranormal and that includes aliens." Mulder went on to further explain seeing the curiosity written on Daniel's face, without noticing the questioning look on Penny's. "I read your paper and thought your theories were really interesting. Why'd you give up?" Daniel chuckled. "Hmmm, well no money, no grants, no job and I was laughed out of the archeological society so...it seemed best to pursue other ventures." Mulder looked at Daniel thoughtfully before asking, "Have you ever thought of going back? I mean reopening your inquiry?" "Hold on," Jack interrupted. "Before you answer that Daniel and one thing leads to another let's go get our food?" Jack got up from the table then waited while Penny got up and they headed to the buffet line. Throughout dinner Mulder and Daniel talked about theoretical aliens and academia while Penny and Jack chatted about sports and other things. As they finished dinner Jack was called away to the phone so Penny turned her attention to Mulder and Daniel catching what seemed to be the tail end of their conversation. "...produced a virus that infected early man and transformed his physiology. Into an alien life form itself. Then when the last ice age, wiped them out, the virus lay dormant. It thrived underground in oil deposits. It looks like black oil. It has sentience. It can think. It has the ability to communicate and it communicated with the aliens in Roswell. I believe that there are some people in the government that have been concealing all of this since the Roswell crash where they captured a group of these aliens from the spacecraft wreckage. They salvaged the various alien technologies from them and from their data banks they learned of the alien plan to "re-colonize" the earth. I've seen the evidence so now you see why your theory doesn't seem that off base to me." Mulder finished. Penny had lived next door to Mulder when his sister Samantha had been abducted. At the time he had no recollection of who or how she had been taken her. She knew that later on from what she heard through her family grapevine that Mulder believed that Sam was taken by aliens and had pursued his belief even with the FBI. Mulder was a brilliant man but listening to him she wondered if Daniel thought he was some kind of crackpot. She should have known better, from the look on Daniel's face he seemed really fascinated. Daniel seemed to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Jack returned to the table. "Daniel the weather got worse, so we're on stand down until 0730 tomorrow morning let's go home." "Really? Ok Jack." Daniel said. Mulder noted the look that passed between the two men, it seemed that weather wasn't really the issue. He wondered what was. Penny offered to take Daniel home so Jack wouldn't have to go the extra distance to the apartment building. Before getting in the golf cart that had brought he and Daniel down the road from the Mountain Complex, Jack shook Mulder's hand. "Nice meetin' ya. Maybe next time Daniel will let the rest of us get a word in edgewise." He smiled and clapped his hand on Daniel's shoulder, "I'll pick you up at 0700. Oh and I'll bring the coffee." Jack winked at Penny. "Night all." He got in the golf cart and drove toward the tunnel entrance to the mountain. Penny, Mulder and Daniel got into Penny's car, both Mulder and Daniel offering to climb into the small back seat, finally it was determined that Daniel being slightly shorter and smaller than Mulder would survive the 20 minutes in the back with the least potential for permanent spine damage. "Mulder I'm curious," Penny said as she started the car "you said to Daniel that you and your partner worked on the X-Files. I didn't know you had a partner." Mulder looked over at Penny, "This is going to sound really strange but here's what happened to me yesterday." Both Penny and Daniel listened as Mulder explained who Scully was and told of the events in the Airplane graveyard. "...so here I am and I need your help to figure out if this has something to do with...not that I want to sound any crazier than I do but...the space time continuum? And if it does where'd she go when she vanished and more importantly, tell me how we get her back." Mulder finished. Penny looked at Mulder thoughtfully before she spoke. "Ok, let me see if I understand correctly, in a nutshell, you and Scully...is that her name?" Mulder nodded. Penny continued. "You and Scully were at an airplane graveyard outside of Tucson, you went inside a B-24 bomber, you spoke to someone on the radio and then Scully just vanished. And you have two sets of memories; one set with her and one set without her. Mulder again nodded, and said hopefully, "Do you have any ideas?" "Mulder thinking this has something to do with time travel is really out there. You have just described a situation in which at least two, maybe three of the four theories of what scientist deem "time travel" have come into play." Penny answered him. "...and?" Mulder wanted her to go on.  
"Ok, first...um..it's like you have two theories happening concurrently. You have what we call the "grandparent" paradox. It's like, suppose that you went back in time and killed your grandparents before they had any children. By doing it you eliminate your own existence. So in other words by talking on the radio you were talking to someone that had either a direct or indirect effect on whether Scully was actually born. Which; for me, such a huge coincidence is hard swallow." Penny finished. "What's the other theory? You said there were more." Mulder asked "Hmmm...the other theory which is easier to believe is called the Observer Effect. In simple terms you would travel in time to alter history and succeed, but the only persons capable of differentiating between the reality left behind and the new reality are those directly associated with the time travel... the time traveler. Which in this case would make you the time traveler not Scully. And that brings in a third theory because none of this explains how the hell you got here." Penny said mulling it over in her head. "So you think I disappeared from Scully, and she's somewhere thinking I vanished, again." Mulder said trying to keep it all straight in his head. Penny squinted at Mulder, "Again?"  
"Yeah, very long story, ask me later." Then steering Penny back to the subject he asked, "So where does that leave us?" Penny sighed again, "In an Alternate Universe, it seems by talking into that radio you've changed the timeline of an alternate quantum reality." Mulder looked over at Penny almost afraid to ask, "How do I get back...home?" "Mulder I'm not sure you can. It would take..." She stopped mid sentence thinking of the impossibility. "Come on, Penny just tell me it can't be much worse...it would take what?" Mulder encouraged her to explain. "Yeah, Penny I'd like to hear this too. What would it take to send Mulder back to his reality?" Daniel said from the back seat startling both Penny and Mulder who had been so involved in their conversation they had all but forgotten he was in the car. "It would take a humongous stable wormhole and the ability to predict a solar flare that would occupy the same space-time as the one in the past. A more technical explanation would be that Einstein's special and general theories of relativity combine three-dimensional space with time, to form four-dimensional, space-time. Space-time consists of points or events that represent a particular place at a particular time. Ummm...think of your entire life as a sort of twisting, turning worm in space-time. The tip of the worm's tail would be your birth and its head would be your death. The line, which this worm creates with its body, is called a world line. Einstein predicts that massive bodies such as black holes can distort world lines. Soooo, if an object's world line could be distorted enough to form a loop that connected with a point on itself that represented an earlier place and time, it would create a corridor to the past. You with me?" Both Mulder and Daniel nodded.   
"Imagine a loop to loop track that smashes back into itself as it comes back around. This closed loop called is a time-like curve. Time-like means that the body under consideration experiences time that increases in one direction along its world line. A closed time-like curve is one way to create a kind of shortcut through space-time called a wormhole. Ok so, Wormholes are holes in the fabric of four- dimensional space-time, that are connected, but which originate at different points in space and at different times. They provide a quick path between two different locations in space and time." Knowing that both of the men she was talking to were extremely intelligent she didn't want to insult them but decided to explain further using an example she used with first year cadets taking quantum physics. "Think, "Alice in Wonderland" her looking glass was a wormhole that connected her home in Oxford, with Wonderland. All she had to do was climb into her looking glass and she would emerge on the other side of forever. In reality however, it would require a much more elaborate scheme to create a wormhole that connects two different points in space-time. Here's the reason I say I don't think it's possible for us to send you back. It would require the construction of two identical machines consisting of two huge parallel metal plates that are electrically charged with unbelievable amounts of energy. When the machines are placed in proximity of each other, the enormous amounts of energy - about that of an exploding star - would rip a hole in space-time and connect the two machines via a wormhole. I mean it is possible, and the beginnings of it have been illustrated in the lab by what is known as the Casimir Effect. But one of these machines would have to be placed on a craft that could travel at close to the speed of light. The craft would take one machine on a journey while it was still connected to the one on earth by way of the wormhole. Now, a simple step into the wormhole would transport you to a different place and a different time. Like I said not possible, at least today." Mulder folded his arms across his chest and leaned his head back against the headrest. He had no intention of giving up, but Penny's explanation had made him think that getting home was next to impossible. Daniel looked lost in thought as they reached the apartment building. None of them had much to say as they entered the building. Mulder and Penny bid Daniel good night as he left them to enter his apartment. Penny sat down on the couch looking at Mulder thoughtfully as he sat down in the armchair. "That was some story Mulder..." Mulder interrupted before she could finish. "Please say you believe me Penny, like when we were kids you always believed me about Sam." "Mulder, I've seen some really odd things and yes I guess I do believe you, but I'm not sure how I can help." She sighed. Then seeing Mulder's dejected face she realized something. "She's more than your partner isn't she? I mean, I know if she was just your partner you'd want to get her back, but I sense more. Am I right?" She asked gently. "Yes, I love her Penny, I trust her, she's my.... she kept me going when I didn't think I could go any more and she's given up so much for me. I can't leave her out there not knowing, I have to find her, get her back or get back to her, whatever it takes." Penny heard the desperation in Mulder's tone. "Tomorrow morning we're going to the Air Force Academy and you're going to do research in the Physics library I want you to read any obscure reference you can find on stable wormholes, sun flare activity and time travel theory. If there's something you think is interesting but just don't get the science I want to see it. If we're going to find out what happened in that graveyard we're going to have to dig in and work." She had no idea what they could possibly find that would help Mulder. She knew from first hand experience that sound waves could travel in time, but a person that was a different issue. What she wanted was to give Mulder optimism. Mulder smiled, he loved Penny when she was determined and nine out of ten times that stubborn resolve got her what she wanted. "Thanks Pen, you working on this with me, at least, gives me hope. I think I'm going to hit the shower and see if I can get some sleep. See you in the morning." "Good night, Mulder. Oh and Mulder, I heard somewhere that hope dies last so we won't give up." She said as she headed to her room. Air Force Academy Physics Library   
Day 2   
Mulder spent most of the next day in the Air Force Academy's extensive Physics Library. He found and saved anything he could on wormholes, time travel and sun flares. After her last class Penny came to check on him and they decided to bundle up his findings and take them home for a closer exam. They categorized the articles and research Mulder found into a number of piles for easier reference. They were so engrossed in their task that by the time they thought about eating it was almost 10pm so they decided to order out for pizza. "Maybe Daniel's home and we could ask him to join us, he's really a great researcher so he might be willing to help. We have a ton of information to go through. I'll run next door and see if he's home and invite him. You call and order the pizza." Penny said. As soon as Mulder went into the kitchen to find the phone, Penny remembered the old spare coffee maker she had up in the cupboard. She had been meaning to give it to Daniel since his had broken, but kept forgetting. She went into the kitchen behind Mulder. "I thought you were going to get Daniel." He said. "I am, I just want to find this old coffeemaker I have and give it to him, until he remembers to buy a new one, I meant to give it to him yesterday." She replied to his inquiry while rummaging through the cupboard finding the old Crups coffee maker. She smiled it was a good coffee maker but probably not up to Daniel's exacting standards, but it would have to do. Taking the coffeemaker then not being sure he would be home she remembered she had placed his key on the key rack hanging by her front door; she took it, before heading next door to Daniel's apartment. When she got to Daniel's the door was slightly ajar. No reason for alarm, Daniel was always forgetting to close and lock the door. She pushed the door open the apartment was dark. Maybe, Daniel wasn't home yet. Oh well, she thought and headed straight for the kitchen when she sensed more than saw someone sitting on the couch just in range of her peripheral vision. "Daniel? Why are you sitting in..." She stopped mid question realizing that the figure was not Daniel but Jack. His head bowed into his hands kind of rocking to and fro from the waist up. "Jack, what's wrong?" She asked gently. He looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes and simply said, "He's gone." She shook her head, "What I don't understand...gone...Daniel...where?" Jack gaining his composure told her the cover story SG1 had come up with to explain Daniel's absence to his civilian friends. "He was killed in accident. The weather front that they thought had passed whipped back around and caused a flash flood in the area we were working in, Daniel's missing, presumed dead. He was swept away before we could get to him and the current was so strong, he was just...just..." Jack choked out the last part. Penny could feel the sting of tears welling in her eyes. All she could think was she had to get out of Daniel's apartment and away from Jack; she raced next door. Barreling into Mulder as she entered the apartment, she fell to her knees and started to sob. Jack was right behind her. Mulder seeing Jack went into protection mode. "What the hell did you do to her?" Mulder hissed. Then he saw Jack's face. "What's happened?" Mulder asked quietly. "It's Daniel, he's missing, presumed dead, in a flash flood." Jack said turning away from Mulder because his emotions were about to get the best of him. The cover story was awful; the truth of what Daniel had actually suffered before ascending had been horrific. He would never forget Daniel sitting across from him in the infirmary and calmly going through the list of symptoms the radiation poisoning would manifest before his actual death. Maybe that was why when Daniel had asked Jack to let him go; he was able to grant his request. Jacob had said there was no guarantee that the Tok'ra healing device would actually give them back a whole and healthy Daniel. Jack didn't want Daniel to suffer anymore. This way he could think about him as out there somewhere. Three Month's Later  
Colorado Springs   
For three months Mulder stayed with Penny. He considered himself an unperson. Not knowing what contact with other people would lead to, he decided to have no contact with anyone from his past. The months passed in a blur. He spent most of his time doing research but even that seemed to have hit a dead end. On the plus side, Penny had been able to figure out times and dates when the sun flare activity would duplicate the night he and Scully had been in the airplane graveyard. However, the information was useless because there was no wormhole either manmade or natural that could take him back to the moments before Scully disappeared. There would be no rescue mission through time. He didn't even know how he had entertained the thought. He believed in and had witnessed many a strange phenomena, but this was a pipe dream even for him. Penny had been great throughout everything. He didn't know when he actually came to the realization that she thought finding Scully through time was an infinitesimal impossibility too huge to fathom, but there it was. To Penny's credit she never let her disbelief stop her from exploring each cockamamie theory he brought to her to its fullest extent and with an enthusiasm that matched his own. Penny gave him hope where there was none letting him exhaust each and every possibility until he knew to an absolute certainty that his quest was impossible. Knowing was one thing admitting was quite another and Mulder couldn't and wouldn't admit that Scully was lost to him. He held onto his faulty logic: she had vanished into thin air; therefore, she would reappear in the same fashion. After three months he was ready to scream his frustration, but couldn't do that to Penny. She had put her life on hold to help him so he would remain in control, and sane. The rage that had been boiling inside him since the day Scully vanished tried bubbling to the surface but was always put in its place by his mortal shame. He'd let this happen to her. He wanted Scully back. His desire was so strong that even knowing the implausibility of ever finding a way to bring Scully back to him, he still held on to a glimmer of hope. Proving that Penny was right in saying hope dies last. "Hey, a nickel for your thoughts." Penny said as she walked out of the kitchen and sat next to Mulder on the couch. "I think I've just realized that we've exhausted all of our possibilities for finding Scully. I know that you've just been humoring me for the last week or so...just so I won't feel like I've abandoned Scully without exploring every minute possibility. I think it's time to stop. I think I'm gonna hit the road and let you get back to your life." Mulder said clearly dejected and resigned that the search was over. "Mulder, I'm sorry..." Penny started but Mulder interrupted her. "Penny don't you dare apologize to me, you've done more to help me than any other sane person would have done given the situation." Mulder said vehemently. "Mulder I just wish it had been enough, I mean I'm still not even sure what time theory we're dealing with and that's really a blow to the quantum physicist in me." Penny said sadly. "Penny the fact that you believed me and even attempted to find a solution...makes you stand head and shoulders above every other quantum physicist I know." Mulder looked over and smiled at Penny. She grinned back getting his little joke then said. " I get it I'm the only quantum physicist you know. Seriously, you joke but you know there has to be a solution, nothing happens in nature without some kind of science being able to explain it and not being able to figure this out just..." Mulder groaned.   
"What?" Penny asked in response to his groan. Mulder smiled. "You sounded just like Scully, It took me years to get her to believe that sometimes things can't be explained by applying science - ah scratch that - because thinking about it now I'm not sure I ever fully convinced her. But Penny sometimes unexplained things do happen and science just doesn't always have the answer. Remember that B-24 story your Dad used to tell?" "He made that up, Mulder and I'm not sure you could convince me of that...but... changing the subject to you hitting the road, won't you stay until you figure out where it is you're going? All you've been doing for the last three months is trying to find a way to get Scully back. I know you haven't had a chance to think things through. Stay and just relax and figure out your next move." Penny urged. "You're right, I haven't given a lot of thought to what comes next, so I'll stay but only a few more days." "Great and Mulder when you do leave please don't let ten years go by before I see you again." Penny said as she headed to her room. Mulder smiled sheepishly at her last statement. " 'Night, Pen." Somewhere in the Universe   
At the time Daniel had stepped into the glowing white light of the Stargate for the last time he had no idea what to expect he was simply going with Oma Desala. At once he was overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge at his disposal. He understood things he hadn't even thought about during his life. The only requirement for gaining all this newfound knowledge was adhering to a set of rules, with the number one rule; or as Daniel liked to think of it the prime directive, being no interference. You could look, listen and learn but you couldn't touch and that was really hard for someone who had spent a lifetime learning by touching. Of course, he could go anywhere he wanted; investigate other races, other cultures, other time periods, other worlds, and other galaxies. It was really strange having knowledge but not having to work for it. It felt a bit like cheating but at the same time it was incredible. Daniel realized how small his place in the universe had been and how much more there was to see and do. However, no matter how small he felt his place had been, he still couldn't let go of the people that had meant the most to him; Sam, Teal'c and Jack. He made it part of his routine to watch over them. Even under his watchful eye Jack had managed to get into the kind of trouble that almost cost him his life. So that's why once again he was saying goodbye to Jack in the SGC infirmary. Jack would be ok; of this Daniel was sure, he had peeked into the future. It was more than a little strange to move back and forth through time, like driving down an interstate highway exit 14 takes you to the 23rd century. He hadn't lied to Jack about being content with the path he had chosen. He really could not at that moment imagine being any thing other than what he had become. It really was an amazing experience. Then again being with Jack throughout his ordeal had made Daniel realize how hard it was to keep his hands out of the proverbial cookie jar. Right this minute he needed something to do, something new to learn, because that was the only thing that was going to keep him from spending the week hovering around Jack and the infirmary. Earth 2013   
As he left Jack's side he headed for the undiscovered country, the future. Daniel picked at random and headed eleven years into Earth's future. It was kind of like reading the last page of a book, just to reassure yourself that if you spent the time and continued reading that things would indeed turn out ok in the end. What Daniel discovered was not the reassuring conclusion he had been seeking. The last page of this book seemed to be promising something like; no make that exactly like, the apocalypse. The sun filtered through the smoke and ash to reveal the scarred face of a dying world, the landscape was the gray of dried out soil and the trees that remained were charred and black. Everything around him was in flames and fire was raining down from the sky. As he moved from one place to another he discovered old wounds in evidence under this new assault. Cities that weren't currently burning looked worn and brittle. Roads were pockmarked with cracks and potholes. The people he saw mirrored their surroundings. They were weather-beaten and scarred. The young looked old, and the old seemed ancient. The whole scene was surreal; like the melting clocks in a Dali painting, the world seemed to be warped and distorted. Daniel closed his eyes and in his mind's eye he got images of alien ships swooping down, of the swarms of bees carrying a type of Black Death over the face of the earth. He saw soulless husks in the place of real men who carried out highly sophisticated methods of genocide for their alien masters. He saw his world near extinction. Who or what had caused this? As soon as the question touched his mind, he got an image of the Asgard, of Thor, no, he refused to believe that in such a short amount of time Earth's protectors would become it's destroyers. He concentrated harder. This time names came with the images; he was not seeing the Asgard and Thor, but a group called the Muspelheim and their leader Surt. Daniel knew from Norse mythology that like Asgard, Muspelheim was one of the nine worlds in which the Norse Gods resided. It was the home of the fire giants. Surt watched the border of this world. He, if Daniel recalled correctly, was waiting for the day of Ragnarok when he would set the world on fire with his fire sword. It looked to Daniel as if Surt had been busy. Trying to remain calm, Daniel thought about what action he should take. He could go back and question the others about all that he had seen but that would draw their attention. Frankly, all Daniel really wanted was to fix this and that would be stretching that damn non-interference rule to the breaking point. Something was nagging at the edge of his consciousness some piece of information that he had heard fairly recently that maybe didn't explain what he was seeing but gave a clue as to why it was happening. The problem was he had learned so much over the last few months that his head was full of new information. Something about the bee's carrying a virus...Mulder...that was it Penny's friend Mulder had told him about an alien virus that looked like black oil and would be spread by bee's. Daniel concentrated on Mulder, aside from his story about the aliens that would destroy the earth he had also said his partner; a women named Scully had disappeared from an airplane graveyard. Mulder had seemed to think it might have something to do with the space-time continuum, that's why he had come to find Penny. Daniel decided the best place to start to try and "fix" all of this was with what Mulder perceived to be different and that to would have to be the world without Scully. Tucson, Arizona  
Three Months Ago   
Suddenly, Daniel found himself back in the Earth's present year but three month's in the past in an airplane graveyard at night. He observed two figures coming over the top of the wall that surrounded the yard. He recognized Mulder and then he saw a pretty, petit, red headed woman, Scully. Mulder appeared to be the "wanderer" of this team. Daniel listened to their friendly banter and smiled as Scully gave Mulder a hard time. Through her admonishments of caution he recognized the underlying affection in her voice, it was similar to that of Jack's when Daniel; just, had to see something. He smiled and looked on, as they stood wrapped around each other watching the strange ghostly lights flashing across the horizon. As the lights dimmed they approached a large plane that seemed to have captured Mulder's attention. Within a matter of minutes Mulder had entered the plane via a work ladder leaning on its side. He watched Mulder play with the radio; only it was not the ordinary radio it appeared to be. Daniel's ears detected a strange hum just beyond the range of the static each time Mulder keyed the mic. Scully climbed the ladder next and then there it was she just blinked out of existence. Daniel realized he had seen someone disappear in much the same way. Jack had just blinked out of existence whenever Thor wanted to talk to him. Daniel focused on Scully and was not too surprised when he found himself on a Muspelheim space ship, the same kind of space ship he had seen destroying Earth's future. Knowing what had happened to Scully, Daniel decided his next step should be to focus on Mulder and see what happened next. He watched as Mulder searched the graveyard. Mulder drove to a small interstate motel, checked in and then left almost as quickly. He watched as Mulder got out at the rest stop and guessed Mulder was headed to Penny's and knew that he was the person Mulder was speaking to on the payphone. Daniel realized he would find no other answers here in the past. He knew that the Muspelheim must have a motive for abducting Scully but his guess was that although Mulder may ultimately hold the answer he was not consciously aware of it. Scully must be the common denominator, linking her abduction with the future he had witnessed. Why else would the Muspelheim abduct her? They must have known that without her the Earth was theirs for the taking. All at once Daniel knew what he had to do. Present Day  
Colorado Springs   
Jack O'Neill was released from the infirmary after a week of "sarcophagus rehab". As he got in his truck to leave the mountain for a couple of days R & R, he thought about the ordeal that he had gone through over the last few months. First Daniel, then almost dying, next the implant - he shuddered at the thought - the torture and finally his escape. When Sam, Teal'c and Jonas were finally able to give him a detailed explanation of their rescue plan and how the idea had just come to Teal'c during Kel no reem; he was more and more convinced that Daniel had been whispering in their ears. He had his doubts at first but he should have known that Daniel would come through for him. No interference my ass. The thought made Jack smile, he was glad to see that Daniel in his see-through state could still be counted on not to follow orders. Daniel had said he was happy where he was not in those exact words, but Jack understood. When Jack would let his rage subside enough to allow the image; he could picture Daniel experiencing all the wonders of the universe. The rage he felt was not aimed at Daniel, but at the circumstances that had lead to his need for ascension. Daniel had been taken from him not by Oma Desala but by the carelessness and cowardice of the Kelownan scientists - that outraged Jack. Daniel had been the voice and conscience of SG1 and in a way he had been that for Jack too. Since Daniel's act of bravery, Jack's world had been plummeted into a type of silence. He regretted each and every time he had told Daniel to shut-up or to keep his theories to himself. In the post-ascension months, Jack had held his feelings close to his vest all the while longing to be comforted by Daniel's voice and then as if on cue there he was lending his comforting presence to Jack in Baal's hellish prison. One of the things that had become crystal clear to Jack when he saw Daniel in his prison cell was just how much he had missed his friend. Steering his truck into a parking space on the street in front of Daniel's apartment, Jack was not sure whether the effects of the withdrawal or just plain sentiment had drawn him here. Keeping Daniel's apartment had been his idea. After all, Daniel was technically missing in action, still drawing a paycheck, and had tons of junk that would need a home, so as executor of his estate Jack made the decision to keep the place. With a full mission schedule and everything else that had transpired Jack had only been able to stop by a couple of times since Daniel had been gone. He was glad that Penny had agreed to feed the fish, had they depended on him they would have been belly up. Staying the night at Daniel's place being around all that old stuff that Daniel loved might help cure the dull pain he had felt since Daniel had left him in the infirmary. As Jack ambled up the walkway to the apartment building he saw Penny's friend Mulder coming around the block from what looked like a pretty good run. Jack waited at the door for Mulder to catch up. "Hey." Jack said. "Hey, you checking up on Daniel's place, so far we've managed to keep all his fish alive. Any news?" Mulder inquired. "No, nothing has turned up." Jack said looking down at his hands. "Ah, I'm sorry. Are you here for a while?" Jack gave a slight nod as Mulder continued. "Why don't you join Penny and I for dinner, pizza and beer, take out of course, because Penny never keeps any food in the apartment. Mulder and Jack both laughed as they got in the elevator. "Sounds good, pizza and beer it is. What time?" Jack asked. "How 'bout 6:30ish." Mulder replied. "Great, see you then."   
Entering Daniel's apartment Jack was struck by how this place was "so" Daniel, warm, inviting, full of artifacts and books. Feeling tired and realizing he had a couple of hours to kill before dinner at Penny's, Jack went into Daniel's room and lay down to take a nap. Daniel Jackson rested on his side; head propped against the palm of his hand, silently watching and waiting for Jack O'Neill to reach REM sleep. He was laying on his old bed just inches from Jack's sleeping form. He could tell that Jack was about to enter the space between his own reality and Daniel's. It was neutral ground, a place they could meet and no one would be the wiser. Deep and even breaths indicated that Jack was almost there. Once his friend reached REM or the space between realities, Daniel would be free to wake him and talk to him. It was sort of like dream walking, although, Jack would be awake he would think he was dreaming and because of that ambiguous state the others would remain blissfully unaware of Daniel's conversation with Jack. Daniel still felt a nervous anticipation, he wasn't exactly dropping by to say a simple hello, but at least Jack wasn't being tortured. At this moment he was safe Jack couldn't see or hear him. He was going to ask Jack suspend his belief and to trust him. He and Jack had been down this particular road many times. Sometimes Jack was willing and able but at other times Jack was just plain stubborn. That fact alone made Daniel unsure as to how to relay to Jack all that Mulder had told him at dinner the day before he ascended. Mulder's tale of black oil aliens was like the fiction of some bad dream. Believing anything could be possible was part of who Daniel was, but not Jack, he would need evidence. All the evidence Daniel had to offer in this case was his word he hoped that it would be enough for Jack. Daniel shuddered as he thought of witnessing Mulder's aliens in action. He knew they were the worst nightmare kind of trouble and they had taken Mulder's partner. Along with absorbing the knowledge of Scully's ordeal and acquiring the truth of Mulder's manipulation by the Muspelheim, Daniel found a gem of the information obtained by Mulder and Penny in their search for a solution. They had actually found a way to get Scully back although Mulder and Penny had no idea that the technology they needed actually did exist. That's where Jack figured into all of this, he could put all the pieces together. Daniel reckoned that with all Jack had seen in the past five years that the trouble convincing him would not come from the fact that Mulder's tale or Daniel's solution were too farfetched, but the story had to be told in a way that would propel Jack into immediate action. Jack's eyes started moving under his eyelids. Time. "Jack. Jack. Wake up." Daniel coaxed.  
"Huh, no." Jack muttered.  
"Jack, please wake up and talk to me."  
Jack was sure he knew that voice maybe he should answer. "Wha..." Jack sighed, still not quite awake. "Jack, wake up."  
"Alright, already, jeez Daniel. What is it?" Jack said with his head still on his pillow opening one bleary eye to look at Daniel who was lying right next to him. "Hi, sunshine." Daniel couldn't resist. "I need to tell you a couple of things, so I need you to pay attention for a minute." Daniel explained to his groggy bed companion. Still fuzzy about what was happening Jack answered. "Right now Daniel? Can you tell me tomor...Wait? Daniel?" The realization finally registered; Daniel was speaking to him, but that wasn't possible Daniel had said goodbye to him again in the infirmary a week ago. "Yes Jack, it's me, I'm really here and I have to tell you this right now." Daniel said firmly. Jack still a bit dazed and emotionally drained from the week of withdrawal rubbed his index finger and thumb back and fourth across his eyes. "Why are you..." Jack started to ask but was interrupted by Daniel. "Listen, I promise I will explain all of this to you later, but right now I really need you to listen to me." Jack must have noted the urgency in Daniel's voice because he finally agreed to listen. He mirror imaged Daniel laying on his side, placing his hand under his chin and dug his elbow into his pillow. "K, what's up Danny?" "Jack, we have to help Mulder get Scully back. She is not supposed to be gone. I don't know if you heard any of what Mulder told me at dinner that last night in the O Club about the aliens, the shadow government and the work that he and Scully have been doing for the last 9 years, so I'll just give you the Readers Digest version. Mulder's aliens have been planning an invasion of earth for the last fifty years. They use this black oil; well, it looks like black oil but it has sentience. It can think. It has the ability to communicate. As near as I can figure the virus, injected into its victims with a bee's sting, is a parasite. It acts like a goa'uld. This virus, like the goa'uld, takes over the host body and it either makes them human/alien hybrids or incubates until it forms a new alien." Daniel paused to make sure Jack was still with him. "With you so far, oily virus equals new bad guy ..." Jack interjected. Daniel continued, "Mulder says that he and Scully discovered that a group within the government have known since the Roswell crash. This shadow government; so to speak, captured a group of these aliens from the spacecraft wreckage. They salvaged the various alien technologies from them and from their data banks they learned of the alien plan to "re-colonize" the earth. In an effort to save their own lives this group of men manufactured a vaccine that could render them immune to the virus all the while pretending to cooperate with the aliens' plans for colonization. The aliens found out about the vaccine and changed their original plan to make humans a slave race to simply wiping out all life by invading and taking over the Earth. It's all been set in motion. Earth is in more trouble than we ever realized. What I found out is that Mulder's aliens are a renegade branch of the Asgard family tree. They're called the Muspelheim and their leader is called Surt. " Jack looked skeptical and started to say something, but Daniel beat him to the punch. "Listen, I know I'm giving you the condensed version of this. And I know how preposterous it all sounds, but it's not any more preposterous than traveling to different worlds through a wormhole, fighting the goa'ulds - make that snakes - that think they're gods, or any one of the thousands of things we've seen over the years." Jack's turn, "Daniel you're saying that there is a group of basically bad Thors out there that have this living slime virus and they want to destroy us? How does that work? Oh and not to mention that people within our government know all this...well, scratch that last one - that is possible." Daniel considered his reply and then said, "Jack think about it there are two sides to every coin, for the Goa'uld it's the Tok'ra, for us it's like the SGC and the NID. Well, for the Asgard it's the Muspelheim." Jack studied Daniel for a few seconds then said, "Since this is my dream, I'll go along. What exactly do you need me to do to stop this...virus?" "We need to get Scully back because she and Mulder are key to Earth's survival. I don't know how but Scully will be instrumental in finding a way to stop the virus from spreading. You need to go through the Stargate at precisely 1:11 am the day after tomorrow. You will need to take Mulder and Penny with you, but no one else can know." "And just where would I be going for my court-martial, Daniel?" "Jack, please trust me, there will not be a court-martial." "Oh, so they just shoot me."  
"Jack, I promise this is the right thing to do. I've seen what these aliens can and will do. I'll be waiting on the other side of the gate for you, so please trust me." The earnest look in Daniel's eyes said it all. Jack knew he would take the risk and go just because Daniel was asking. "I can do that." He finally said. "I still need to know where it is I'm going, you know, a little matter of dialing the gate." The tension Daniel was feeling eased. "Just dial home Jack and once you get to the other side I'll tell you everything. So I'll see you 32 hours from now." Jack laid his head back down on his pillow closed his eyes and mumbled, "Daniel, stay." Daniel smiled and then reached out and brushed his hand over Jack's tousled hair and disappeared. Jack woke to the sound of knocking on the door. He looked at the clock, 6:47 he had overslept. That was the strangest dream; he shook his head as he walked through the apartment to open the door. "Hey sleepyhead, you ready for dinner." Penny greeted him noting the lines of sleep still on his face. "Oh jeez Penny, I'm sorry, I must have overslept, I'll be over in a sec." Jack apologized " 'K Jack take your time...pizza just got here." Penny headed back next door. Jack closed the door and headed for the bathroom, he couldn't shake the dream it was so vivid like Daniel had been lying next to him urging him to go through the gate, and save the world. But he had no idea what Daniel was talking about; a government conspiracy, black oil, alien viruses, bad Thor's and who the hell was Scully? He wondered. Daniel had said that Jack needed to help Mulder get Scully back. He splashed his face with water. He went over to Penny's still pondering. He, Mulder and Penny made small talk during dinner. Jack found that Mulder was quite the sports enthusiast so they stayed mostly to that subject. Then on a whim Jack asked, "Who's Scully?" Mulder looked like a fish, his mouth opened and closed before he said, "What do you know about Scully?" Both Mulder and Penny were looking at Jack for an explanation. "Absolutely nothing. I just had this bizarre-o dream, where Daniel told me I had to help you save someone named Scully. It seemed so real so I thought I'd ask and see if I got a response and it looks like I just did. So I'll ask again who's Scully?" This time Mulder replied, "She was my partner at the FBI, she disappeared three month's ago." "How'd that happen?" Jack asked. Mulder was not given to trust easily so he looked at Penny she nodded her encouragement. So Mulder related the tale of Scully's disappearance and what he and Penny had hypothesized had happened to her, to Jack. When he finished, Jack was still wondering why Daniel thought he could help Mulder so he asked, "Have you made any progress in finding a way to get her back?" "Not really," it was Penny who answered. "In order to go back in time we'd need and monstrously big wormhole and then have to be able to open it at precisely the time when a sun flare would hit it to send us back in time. We figured out when the solar showers would create the flare but without being able to create and sustain a stable wormhole we're at a dead end. In fact Mulder's thinking about leaving this weekend." Jack understood at last what Daniel had been trying to tell him and then he realized it must have been Daniel not just a dream. "No interference." He murmured absently which drew a puzzled look from Penny. He hadn't realized he had spoken out loud and did not want to explain so he quickly returned to the topic at hand. "I think I may be able to help you. I am not at liberty to go into specifics. But can you hold off on leaving Mulder." Mulder nodded slowly assessing Jack with suspicious eyes. Jack was contemplating if he were to do, what he was thinking of doing, exactly how much trouble was he going to be in. "Penny what's your security rating?" "I have a Top Secret L2, classification." "Really! Why Dr. McAllister what are you working on?" Jack said mildly surprised that Penny's classification and compartment were almost as high as his own. Penny smiled knowing she had shocked the Colonel. "Ok, meet me at the O Club at Cheyenne at let's say 10:00 pm tomorrow night. I'll tell you as much as I can then." With that Jack said his good nights and headed back to Daniel's. "What was that all about?" Mulder asked after Jack's departure. Penny shrugged, "Your guess is as good as mine. I don't think Jack's hiding a giant wormhole somewhere. I was thinking though that you've said you had trouble with the military, maybe we've been barking up the wrong tree thinking that Scully vanished in time; maybe the explanation is much simpler. Maybe those rogue military guys that you dealt with took her and planted the thought in your mind that she had vanished." Penny speculated. "Penny, I just can't believe that, she was practically touching me when she vanished and I had a hell of a headache but didn't lose time or wake up from being unconscious. Unless the military is a whole lot more sinister than I'm giving them credit for I really don't think they kidnapped Scully. But if you're telling me, you now believe that; and you are in the military, then I don't know what to believe." Mulder looked at Penny searchingly. "No. Mulder I don't believe it, it just isn't plausible but then again neither is anything else we've come up with. I guess we need to just wait and see what Jack has for us. Tomorrow is going to be a heck of a long day, though. I hate waiting." Mulder smiled and nodded his agreement. Cheyenne Mountain Air Station   
Jack knew he'd need help if he were to carry off getting two unauthorized people through the Stargate. Luckily, the graveyard shift had fewer people working so that would be to his advantage, but he would need someone he trusted in the control room. He waited until it had been almost time to meet Penny and Mulder before he'd asked Teal'c for his help. Jack was not given to doing things on a whim or flights of fancy so when Jack explained about Daniel urging him to help Mulder, Teal'c accepted his story without reservation and agreed to help him. Jack knew that either Carter or Teal'c would have helped him but Carter could be court-martialed, Teal'c couldn't, so that made Teal'c his choice. Jack finished briefing Teal'c and then headed down the Mountain to the O Club. He was seated at a corner table when Mulder and Penny walked in. Jack wanted to get a feel for Mulder, after all he was risking the security of the Stargate Program on a "vision" from Daniel telling him that he had to help Mulder get his lost partner back. Jack believed that there were times when you had to go where angels feared to tread but if you weren't making the journey on your own, you had to be able to trust those making the journey with you. Jack decided that he would be as direct as possible; he had run a background on Mulder and had come up with a strange and checkered career record with the FBI, but more interesting than that had been a sealed military file that had recently been added to Mulder dossier. As Mulder and Penny sat down Jack said. "If I am going to help you find your partner I need you to be straight with me and answer a few questions. I realize that this may all seem a little one sided and I am asking you to blindly trust me, but what we are about to do involves a great risk. I need to know if that risk is acceptable." Mulder nodded, he did not trust easily and could see that Jack was the same way, but to get Scully back he would trust the smoking devil himself if it came down to it, so he would answer Jack's questions. "Ask away." "I read your file Mulder, you have had quite a colorful history with the FBI, chasing aliens, proposing government conspiracies and even interfered in a couple of secret military ops." Mulder gave Jack and Penny the "ah, here we go" look. "So is this the part where you pull the rug out from under me and write me off as the FBI's most unwanted." "No Mulder, I just want to understand. You really believe all this stuff. Jack said waving his hand as if to present Mulder with "the stuff". Mulder looked at Jack thoughtfully. "Listen Jack, I've seen things that I refuse to deny and I know something bad is coming and it's been in the works for a hell of a long time. I've been to hell and back in the last two years and had to give up far too much, watch the people around me suffer..." Mulder paused and then said, "In the grand scheme of things I suppose I care about all those things that have lead me down this path and if I can help stop the coming apocalypse; you know what I'm referring to if you've read the file, then I will, but really all I want at this minute is to get Scully back. Jack nodded then asked, "Tell me one more thing Mulder why has a sealed military file recently been added to your file." Mulder looked at Penny puzzled. "I know why it would be there, but I'm confused because I thought in this reality...." Damn, his other set of memories were intruding, convoluted was the only word that came to Mulder. Right from the start nothing about Scully's disappearance made sense. These new memories were getting stronger and he seemed to be experiencing another Star Trek moment with zero time to figure it all out. He shot a quizzical look at Penny. She shook her head. She was fresh out of ideas. Jack drew them back from their silent conversation by asking again, "Well supposing we're in the right "reality" what would be in that file?" Mulder saw that he had no choice but to tell Jack about the tribunal. He still had to find Scully so he took a leap of faith that Jack would believe his version of what happened at the military tribunal. "I was tried for the murder of a military man before a military tribunal. The charges were trumped up basically to stop my work. And here's the kicker the supposed dead man was an alien and didn't actually die. I got the chair. Some people helped me escape and Scully and I have been on the road ever since. They must have sealed the file, once they realized if anyone stumbled across the information about the conviction they might go looking for records of the proceeding. They would come up empty because there are no records. All I can give you is my word that I did nothing wrong." Jack looked, sizing Mulder up then said, "Good enough, Mulder. You didn't have to tell me all of that. The record was sealed even my clearance couldn't get it opened so..." Not knowing what else to say Jack went with, "We need to move out. Penny you have clearance to get in just show your ID." Penny nodded. "Mulder you are a visiting linguist named William Fox. Here are your credentials. Once we're inside the Mountain I want to head straight for our destination so take those garment bags into the restroom get geared up." He pointed to the two garment bags lying across the back of the empty chair at their table. "I'll be outside in the golf cart." Mulder took the garment bag marked Fox and started in the direction of the restroom but then turned around to face Jack he said, "Listen Colonel I know you're taking a big risk with whatever you have in that Mountain, but I wanted to say no matter how this turns out thanks." And with that he turned and headed to change clothes. Penny caught Jack's eye and smiled and nodded her assurance as he walked out the door to the parking lot. Cheyenne Mountain  
**SGC**  
As they got off of one set of elevators and got onto another set, Penny and Mulder were silent the lighted button on the elevator told them their destination was way into the depths of the Mountain. Getting off the elevator Jack led them down a long corridor to the armory where he issued each of them a side arm. Once they left the armory they headed back down the corridor and into a large room where the focal point seemed to be a large metal ring. Jack broke the silence, "Welcome to the Stargate." Penny looked at him inquisitively, "The Stargate? What does it do?" Jack replied, "Well, you know that stable wormhole that you think you need to help Mulder here find Scully? This makes one." Penny walked closer to the gate clearly fascinated and then asked, "How?" Jack chuckled but knew his answer needed to be phrased in a way so as to not give out a whole lot of information. "Listen you're asking the wrong guy if you want a long drawn out scientific explanation but as for the basics this gate connects to other gates out there and when the right address is dialed a wormhole forms and if you step into the center of the ring you are taken to the other gate." Penny processed Jack simplified explanation and then asked, "Dial?" "Yeah, the gate has symbols around the edge. See?" He said pointing up at the rings of the gate. "You dial in the symbols with a computer; like dialing a giant rotary phone and the number you put in determines where you end up." Jack explained. Mulder stood transfixed looking at the huge ring and listening as Penny questioned and Jack answered. He was still working on the fact that Jack had said this thing would create the wormhole they needed to get Scully back so as Jack finished he asked. "So how does this thing help us get Scully back?" Jack shrugged, "I'm not really sure but Daniel said to dial the gate and to engage the last chevron at exactly 1:11am, so that's what I'm gonna do." The light of understanding hit Penny's face. "The next solar flare hits today at 1:11am." Mulder nodded catching on. "So this is some sort of black ops military operation dealing with time travel and this devise; the Stargate will send us back to save Scully." Jack decided better to let them think whatever until they actually went through the gate so he answered them by saying. "I guess we'll see but for now if we're gonna do this thing we've gotta move out now. Teal'c buddy you ready up there." From the control room above Teal'c replied. "I am ready, O'Neill." "Then dial her up and remember don't engage the seventh chevron until precisely 0-1-11. You two need to stand clear." Jack said as he pointed to where Penny and Mulder should stand. Teal'c replied from the control room as he started dialing the gate. "I will remember, O'Neill." The inner ring of the gate started to move and one by one the chevrons were engaged. At 0-1-11 Teal'c put in the last chevron and a large plume burst from the middle of the wormhole. "Well, I'll be damned." Jack said looking up at Teal'c knowing that dialing Earth's own address should not allow the wormhole to engage. Teal'c gave a slight nod of his head seeming to mean that he too was amazed. "Let's go." Jack said as he moved Penny and Mulder toward the shimmering blue surface that now covered the middle of the gate. Jack reassured his fellow travelers that everything would be ok. "Just step through the Gate and I'll see you on the other side." First, Mulder then Penny stepped through the surface in the middle of the gate. Then just as Jack was about to step through he heard a familiar voice. "Colonel O'Neill just what the hell are you doing?" General Hammond bellowed from the control room. Jack turned and replied, "Not quite sure, sir but you'll be the first to know when I get back." Before the general could say anything else Jack stepped through the gate. Teal'c turned to face General Hammond, thinking that things were going to be unpleasant until O'Neill returned. "Teal'c what address did you dial for them?" The General glowered. "General Hammond, O'Neill had me dial the address of Earth." Teal's answered candidly. "Earth?" General Hammond gave Teal'c a puzzled look. "Ye...." Teal'c started to reply when the General winked out of sight. Cheyenne Mountain 2012   
As Jack stepped out of the gate and into the gate room he first spotted Daniel; who was waiting at the bottom of the ramp. After taking a moment to get his bearings, he looked to make sure Penny and Mulder had come through the gate unharmed. He saw Mulder with Penny standing by Daniel's side at the end of the ramp. He headed toward Daniel. As he approached, Jack felt something was different about him at least different from the last time he had seen him. Jack reached out a finger and poked Daniel in the chest he felt flesh. Surprised by the mass under his fingers he stated incredulously, "You're solid. How?" "Why thanks for noticing Jack, yes I am, but it's a long story and we only have one hour. We have more important things to talk about." Daniel smiled and motioned for Jack to follow him to the briefing room. He turned to make sure that Mulder and Penny were following as well. Samantha Carter was waiting for them in the briefing room, after a minute of hellos and introductions Daniel took the lead. "We have one hour before you have to go back through the Gate. First off, we are going to tell you only those things that are absolutely necessary for you to get Scully and get back home. Each of you has unique knowledge that will be needed to accomplish the task. Jack, you have to do what you do best, lead and take out the bad guys. Mulder, you have very specific knowledge of the place Scully is being held and Penny you have to do the math to bring everyone home." Sam took over from Daniel and looking at Mulder she said. "Scully is not lost in time. She was taken by a group of hostile aliens called the Muspelheim. They are the same aliens that held you captive, Mulder." Mulder protested haltingly. "How can that be? I know each abduction experience may vary slightly but they all have certain similar elements; like time loss or bright lights. And if these were the same aliens that took me then why was Scully's disappearance nothing like my abduction?" Sam answered carefully. "They didn't come from the future when they took you." Mulder nodded then hung his head as he was suddenly struck by the image of Scully enduring the same torture he had gone through at the hands of the aliens. Sam continued. "When you go through the gate this time you will be going to Muspelheim home world at a time just after Scully's disappearance. Mulder you may not realize this consciously, but you have intimate knowledge of their home world and will know once you get there where Scully is being held. Penny you have to calculate from there how to get the three of you back through the Stargate and to you own time just one hour after you arrived here. We can't give you more specific details if we do we may tell you the wrong thing or forget to tell you something that you need to know and could cause a rift in time or change the timeline all together. So you'll have to figure the how to's once you get to the planet. Penny, I'll take you up to the control room where you'll be given the spatial coordinates you'll need for your calculations." Jack spoke up for the first time. "That's all you're givin' us to go on? We're going to some planet controlled by hostile aliens, that supposedly Mulder here knows like the back of his hand and we have to rescue Scully and then gate back home hoping Penny gets the timing right so we end up in our own time not lost in time somewhere? " Daniel and Sam gave each other knowing looks and smiled. Daniel answered, "Yeah, Jack that pretty much sums it up." Jack looked from Daniel to Sam. "Carter?" "Yes, that's right, sir." Jack shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well then, that's no problem at all," still looking for either one of his teammates to give him more information. Sam and Daniel turned to the others in the room. Sam told them, "You have fifteen minutes before departure, Penny, Mulder follow me up to the control room. Sir, we'll meet the you and Daniel in the Gate room in 10." Then looking at both Daniel and the Colonel she said, "Daniel do your stuff." Daniel sat down next to Jack.   
"What'd she mean by that?" Jack asked suspiciously. "Oh...um...she just meant that when I came back to this form..." Daniel started but was interrupted by Jack. "Yeah, How did that happened, you being back to normal and all?" Daniel smiled. "I can't tell you that yet, but just know that when I...ah...descended so to speak I had a few changes. So if you'll let me I'll show you why you're doing this." "Ok. Show me."   
"I have to touch you, it won't hurt and you kind of need to clear your mind out." "Not usually a problem." Jack said and smiled. Daniel reached out and placed his hands on either side of Jacks face with his fingertips pressing gently against his temples. "Close your eyes, Jack and try not to think." Jack followed Daniel's instructions closing his eyes and trying to clear his mind. As he started to relax he started seeing flashes of images. The images came like a slideshow; smoke and ash, gray dried out soil, trees charred and black, flames and fire raining down from the sky, cities burning, roads with cracks and potholes, swarms of bees, weather-beaten people, alien ships swooping, a warped and distorted world. Daniel took his hands away, Jack slowly opened his eyes, and brown eyes searched blue ones. Jack said quietly, "So do we make it?" Daniel gave an almost imperceptible nod. Jack satisfied that he had seen a nod asked. "What year is it?" "2012." Daniel replied.   
"So who wins the Cup in 2003? Jack asked trying to lighten the mood. Daniel shook his head and laughed. Daniel's laugh felt comforting to Jack. He had missed having him around and he told him so. "I've really missed you, Daniel, SG1 just isn't the same without you." Daniel bowed his head touched by his friend's sentiment. Daniel then continued Jacks briefing on the information that he; Sam and Brian had agreed all three travelers would need to know. Penny and Mulder followed Sam to the Control room. Penny smiled as she saw the man at the controls. "Brian?" He smiled at her knowingly.   
"Yeah, Penny it's me and before you ask I can't tell you how, why or any of those other things you are about to ask." Penny laughed. After witnessing the reunion Sam took Mulder off to the side and was briefing him on his part of the plan. "Mulder, there's not a whole lot I can tell you safely. Just know that like I said before you do know where Scully is and you also know where the stellar cartography lab is that Penny will need in order to get you guys home. I need to warn you that you may be hit hard from your subconscious when you arrive on the planet." She paused and Mulder interjected. "You're sure I know this place? How is that possible...I mean... I was taken, tortured and imprisoned on a spacecraft not another planet. I've always been open to extreme possibilities but this...." Sam did her best to sound reassuring putting herself in Mulder's place and what he must be thinking. "I'm sorry, I can't answer your questions. I'm told that trust is hard for you but know this I promise, you have the answers and Scully; well actually, we all need you to have those answers. Mulder nodded his hesitant acceptance. Sam continued. "I have some things I'd like for you to carry and you'll know when you need them." She started handing him some items to place in his pockets. "I also have something for you to tell Colonel O'Neill." Brian wanted to keep things very business-like, he knew Penny's safety and future were in his hands and he didn't want anything to get in the way of that future so he went straight to the task at hand. "From here we can send you to the Muspelheim home world two days after Scully was abducted, three months in your past. We can help you by giving this Yerzaman to attach to the Dial Home Device or DHD for the Muspelheim Stargate." He handed her a small object that looked like a spy camera. She turned it over in her hand listening as he continued his explanation. "The problem is you have to calculate the spatial coordinates from the planet so you know which of the chevrons on the DHD the Yerzaman needs to attach to, so that you get back to your time at the right time." "Ok Bri you're talking Greek and I speak English what the hell is a DHD and a chevron and while we're on the subject how am I supposed to do those kind of calculations I haven't studied star charts, I'm not an astrophysicist and right now I feel that I'm in way over my head. One of my oldest friends, the love of his life and a very important USAF Colonel are depending on me to be right." There was that candor that Brian loved, Penny was never afraid to say I don't know, but the other thing about Penny was that she would figure it all out. "Penny relax, the DHD is simply the devise that lets you dial the address home and Jack will handle that and he will also show you what chevrons are. As for the other it's simply a matter of applying the Q calculation on a larger scale. You're the one who figured it out in the first place. In this case it's looking at the chart, and then figuring out at what point the solar flare will hit the wormhole so that the time-like curve will take you to the right time." "The "right" time is the thing that has me worried Bri, I have to calculate for the future and we both know my success rate at that. No one's life has ever depended on my calculations before either." Brian understood her concerns but with only a short time to give her all the information she needed he continued briefing her. "Here, this is a handheld computer for making your calculations and these are the coordinates and the Earth times of three solar flares." He handed her a very small palm computer and a piece of paper. Sam had finished briefing Mulder and so they had rejoined Penny and Brian for the final part of the briefing. "In the stellar cartography lab you will find a huge computer screen - like movie theatre size - but it's a liquid screen so if you touch the representation of Earth it will show you a map route from there back to earth." Brian finished and Sam took over. "The colonel can help you identify the constellations compared to the Stargate address. You apply the calculations and then attach the Yerzaman to the chevron on the gate and you'll be back home before you know it." Brian took over again. "It's very important that you bring the Yerzaman back through the gate with you. Under no circumstances leave it on the Muspelheim planet. Daniel has briefed the Colonel so I guess we're all set let's hit the Gateroom." Mulder and Sam headed out the door Brian stopped Penny. "Penny," he said softly, she turned to face him. He was still handsome maybe even more so age suited him. "I trust you with my life and I know saying this may be giving too much away; damn it - but I want you to know that's exactly what this is all about our lives - trust yourself." He reached out and pulled her to him hugging her close then let her go so she could join the others in the Gateroom. Jack and Daniel were waiting when Sam, Mulder, and then Penny arrived in the gate room. Brian had stayed in the control room and from there dialed in the coordinates for the Muspelheim home world. The gate whooshed open in a plume of blue liquid. "Ready gang, the adventure continues." Jack said as he led the way up the ramp. He turned to say see ya 'round to Daniel and Sam and was surprised when the younger man came up behind him, grabbed his hand and put it to his chest. Jack could feel Daniel's chest muscles and heartbeat beneath his fingers. He looked at Daniel inquisitively. Daniel smiled at his friend then said mysteriously, "You'll find out how this happened in six months." Jack smiled and nodded his understanding. "Lookin' forward to it." He patted Daniel's chest then gave a salute goodbye to Sam, turned toward the event horizon and stepped into the shimmering blue light of the Stargate. Muspelheim Home World  
Three Month's in the Past   
Mulder and then Penny followed Jack closely. The world they stepped into on the other side was hot. No, not just hot, it was that unbearable kind of arid-hot that produced bone-sucking heat that zapped the energy out of everything it touched. The source of all the tremendous heat was two huge twin suns that could be seen setting just on the eastern horizon. Surveying the area Jack noted that the gate seemed to be in a junkyard. A low-lying haze caused by the heat blanketed the devastated site, but he could see what appeared to be broken and jagged objects; snapped off pipes and conduits, shards of glass, twisted sheets metal and crumbled debris surrounding the trio. Looking further out, the land was an austere gray wasteland that stretched from horizon to horizon. The only relief from the grayness was the blazing heat waves that shimmered just off the surface in the distance. They had to move out the fading light would make this a dark netherworld in a very short time. A light wind whipped up as Jack turned to Mulder to see if anything looked familiar. Mulder was doubled over holding his head in both hands. Mulder felt as if his head were about to explode. He was having flashbacks of himself during his torture; his cheeks being pulled, his nose invaded, his chest being cut open, he own voice screaming as his soft palette was being drilled, six alien Bounty Hunters surrounding him. Jack and Penny managed to get a struggling Mulder to sit down. Jack was the first to break the silence. "Any ideas?" Penny shook her head. "Maybe the atmosphere here is causing him..." before she could finish Mulder started swaying and speaking disjointedly. "Nooooo...not...please...Nooooo...SCULLEEEE...." Jack recognized posttraumatic stress when he saw it. What was going on? What had happened to Mulder here? Sam's words at the briefing came flooding back to him- Mulder you may not realize this consciously, but you have intimate knowledge of their home world - Jack guessed that Mulder's subconscious was informing his conscious of the events that had transpired here. He reached out and slapped Mulder across the jaw. Seeing a slight glimmer of recognition in Mulder's eyes Jack tried the one thing that he thought might get Mulder back to the here and now. "Mulder I know this is hard for you but we have to go find Scully right now." Penny saw Mulder key on Jack as he said Scully's name, but it wasn't quite enough to bring Mulder back. "Colonel let me give it a try maybe a familiar voice will snap him out of it." Jack stepped to one side to give Penny room to kneel in front of Mulder. She placed her hand gently on the red mark Jack's slap had left on his face, "Mulder, Scully really needs your help." Mulder tilted his head. "Jack and I can't find Scully. We need you to tell us where Scully is." Mulder seemed to be snapping out of his trance-like state each time Penny mentioned Scully's name. "Keep going Penny, I think you're getting through to him." Jack said. "Mulder you have to help us find Scully. So we can all go home." Recognition passed through Mulder's eyes. "Penny? What happened? Oh my god they brought me here. All this time I thought I had been on a spaceship but I was here Penny. They tortured me here." He stopped. For a moment Penny thought he had receded within himself again but then he stood up and in an almost hypnotized voice said, "We have to find Scully, I know the way." Jack and Penny looked at each other. Jack was unconvinced as to Mulder's ability at the moment to actually walk let alone find Scully, but with no other choices available and the light of the two suns fading quickly he followed Mulder's lead through the flotsam and jetsam. As they came to the entrance of the yard it was soon apparent that the junkyard was part of a larger complex. Mulder stopped behind one of the debris piles. He motioned for Jack to look in the direction he was pointing. Jack saw little gray Thor-like aliens guarding what looked like the traced out plan of a large round building. Mulder could see the questioning looks on Jack and Penny's faces so he explained what they were seeing. "The buildings are all underground we have to get in through one of the exhaust vent tunnels. Once inside we may have to take out a few of the aliens but you can't shoot these guys you have to take them out hand to hand." "By Hand?" Jack asked.   
Mulder nodded. "Yes, take your knife and stab them right here." He pointed at the back of Penny's neck just to the right side of her vertebra then explained the need for this method. "They're blood is toxic to us so this is the only way to kill them that won't harm us." Mulder stopped and thought then added. "Jack, Sam gave me a message for you she said to tell you to use your Zat." Jack smiled. "Mulder you just concentrate on where we're going I'll take out the aliens." Mulder's look questioned Jack. Jack simply said, "Trust me. There'll be no toxic fumes. Lead on we still have to get Scully, find their stellar cartography lab and hike back through this junk in the dark to the Stargate." Penny spoke up, "Is that steam coming up out of the ground over there?" Mulder and Jack looked in the direction she was pointing. Mulder said, "That's one of the exhaust tunnels we're looking for. Let's go." The trio cautiously approached the vent, Jack kept his Zat at the ready should they be spotted. Mulder, Jack and Penny peered down the hole, but the steam rising from it made it impossible to see too far inside. Mulder started to position himself to go down into the hole but Jack took his arm to stop him. "Better let me go first just in case there are hostiles at the end of the tunnel." Mulder wanted to disagree but conceded knowing that Jack was right. He nodded his acceptance. Jack positioned himself so he could crawl down the hole but at the last minute he turned around so he could drop feet-first into a huge metallic structure. He found himself in a hallway and could just make out containers of some sort on either side of him. He stretched up to help Mulder and Penny down and out of the tunnel. Mulder whipped out his flashlight and said to no one in particular, "This is like a bad case of dj vu." Penny replied with a question as Mulder's flashlight was joined by her's and Jack's, "What are these things?" She saw stacks and stacks of coffin-like pods, piled row upon row. She stood in-between Jack and Mulder and looked in awe at the huge structure before her eyes. Hundreds, no more than likely thousands of these rows stood before them. Mulder replied, "Frozen bodies infected with the alien virus I told you about, preserved until they need to replenish their numbers." Jack frowned. "How the hell are we supposed to find Scully here?" Suddenly, he brought his Zat into aiming position as a movement caught his eye near the bottom of the rows. He relaxed as he realized that a rack; of pods, was moving as if on a conveyer belt. He looked back at Mulder to answer his question, "She's not here. Scully's immune to the virus so the bastards can't do this to her again." Penny had turned her flashlight to the rack of pods closest to them shining her flashlight from one to another; the beams of light caught a frozen face in each. She stifled a scream and moved closer to Mulder as she noticed that the eyes on each one were open in shock, and their mouths were held open by a tube, a picture of silent horror. Jack seeing the object of her horror asked, "What the hell?" "Welcome to my world Colonel O'Neill." Mulder said as he reached out and put his arm around Penny's shoulders drawing her to him. "Scully should be down there." He said pointing the beam of his flashlight to a door far down below in the chamber. Jack followed the point of light to the far off door then looked for a way to get too it from where they stood. He spotted catwalk about 50 feet from where they were standing. Realizing the enormity of the chamber they were in Jack suggested, "We need to tie something to this grating at each level that we'll be able to spot on the way back up." Mulder reached in his pocket, "Sam gave me these." Mulder pulled out several strips of reflective Velcro. "Ah, that Carter." Jack chuckled. Before they reached the first set of stairs that would take them to the next level they tied a strip to the grated floor of the catwalk about halfway between the hallway and the metal stairs. It would hang down as a marker for the way home. They tied the Velcro flags to every third catwalk as they made they way over and down to ground level. As they crossed the last catwalk and headed toward the stairs for the last level; Mulder spotted one of the aliens coming from the direction of the pod conveyor belt they had seen moving earlier. He signaled Jack and was rewarded by three Zat shots hitting the alien and the alien disappearing. "Cool." Mulder said. Jack nodded and took the lead to the massive metal door they had been working their way toward. The door stood at least twenty feet high and about ten yards from their current position. It was covered with some sort of script and didn't look as if it had been opened anytime in recent memory. It took all three of them to tug it open. As it swung open a gust of foul air whooshed past them. Jack wanting to insure Penny and Mulder's safety led the way down the dark passageway beyond the door. Jack estimated they had gone about the length of a hockey rink when they came to a huge open room. The room was somewhat like a hospital's Operating theatre. Jack spotted a petit woman, presumably, Scully lying on a large medical-type of table. The table was lit from below providing the only light in the darkness of the vast room. As Jack moved closer cautiously, he observed that Scully's arms were stretched out to about a thirty-degree angle on either side of her body and held down by cuffs, as were her feet. Her head was attached to some kind of monitoring device with mini probes attached to her skull. She seemed completely peaceful, eyes closed, and unaware of her surroundings. Jack motioned to Mulder and Penny the all clear; that the room was safe to enter. Returning his attention to Scully, Jack moved toward her stopping as he bumped into a small metal cart on the far side of the table Scully occupied. The vials and large needles clinked together as the cart lurched forward from hitting Jack's thigh. Each of the vials were filled with some sort of black substance. As Mulder crossed the threshold into the room, his brain was once again under assault. Memories of this room invaded his consciousness. This had been his prison for months this is where the Muspelheim tormented him. Raising his hands to massage his temples he refused to give in to the pain. He spotted Scully lying on the table and he forced himself to focus on her. He saw Jack moving closer to the table and then stop. The sound of clinking glass filled the quiet of the room. Mulder trained his flashlight at the source of the sound. What he saw horrified him Jack was reaching out to pick up a vial or needle filled with black liquid. "Jack! Stop! Don't touch that and back away from that table!" Jack, startled at the command, stopped mid-reach and shot a quizzical look at Mulder. "Look around you! Did any of the vials or needles fall on the floor?" Jack was not used to taking orders but the urgency in Mulder's voice prompted him to aim his flashlight at the floor, seeing no broken vials or needles, he reported to Mulder. "No, nothing on the floor. What is this stuff anyway?" "That's the alien virus, I've seen it leap into people and you have no immunity so come back around to this side of Scully." Jack nodded and backed away from the table. Mulder continued walking toward Scully. "Those bastards must have been trying to figure out Scully's immunity by injecting her with more of the virus." Mulder reached Scully and seeing that Jack was out of danger turned his attention to her. He stroked her face and called her name "Scully, it's me. I know that you can hear me; if you can just open your eyes. Scully, please open your eyes." Almost crying as he pleaded with her, his thoughts fleetingly returned to the torture he endured here. To stave off another attack he moved to take one of her hands in his gripping it tightly, staring into her blank face. "Scully you have to wake up, we have to get out of here." He urged. Her eyes started to flutter open. "Yeah Scully, look at me. Open your eyes." Mulder found a button on the side of the table and pushed it to release the cuffs holding her arms and legs. He then half lifted her and hugged her to his chest. "Scully, its Mulder wake up." She opened her eyes. "Am I dreaming?" She murmured. "You're not dreaming at all it's me. I've brought a couple of friends and we're going to get you out of here. Let me get this off of you." He and then carefully removed the banded monitor from her head. "I can't believe you found me Mulder." Scully said as she clutched him to her. "I can hardly believe it myself Scully. I'd actually given up hope but I had some help and do I have a great story to tell you when we get home." Mulder saw Jack getting antsy out of the corner of his eye. He glanced at Penny who was acting as a lookout by the door and she didn't look too comfortable either. "Scully did they inject you with the virus?" She looked thoughtfully then said, "No, no, they just strapped me down gave me what must have been a sedative and left." "Good, we have to get out of here now. Do you think you can stand?" She nodded and swung her legs over the side of the table and with Mulder's help she stood. Mulder drew her to him gently cradling the side of her head, and Scully closed her eyes tightly taking in the safe and familiar scent of Mulder. He kissed her gently on the forehead and stroked her temples as she looked up at him. For a moment there was no one else in the room. Coming back to reality he put his arm around her and helped her make her way to the door. Once they were all together Mulder introduced Scully to her other rescuers. "Scully, this is Colonel Jack O'Neill and Penny McAllister." "Thank you for helping Mulder find me." Jack took command. "Thank us later, when we get out of here. We need to find that stellar cartography lab, Mulder do you have any idea where it is?" "Yes. But there are bound to be more of the aliens in that area. I'm not sure Scully can take it." "Mulder, I'm fine and if it means getting out of here I can endure it." Mulder smiled how many times had he heard, "Mulder, I'm fine." But he knew that determined look her eye; Scully was in for the whole pound. "The lab is this way." Mulder said indicating that they would have to walk to the other side of the room. Once there, they came to a door. A normal looking door this time as they opened it to step through, the hairs on the back of Jack's neck came to attention. He could feel the malice of the Muspelheim; then he spotted gray silent shapes standing on either side of the door that opened to the stairway that Mulder was signifying led to the stellar cartography lab. Jack needed to get closer in order to get a good shot at the guards. He needed a distraction and it seemed that Mulder was ahead of him. He had already stepped out into the passageway. "Hey, I'm baaa-ack!" Not original or profound but it did the trick the aliens were moving toward Mulder. Jack zatted each of them once to make them go down and then twice again a piece to make them disappear. "I want one of those." Mulder commented as he let Jack take the lead to stairway door and he returned to helping Scully. Jack checked out the intersecting corridors to make sure no others aliens were lying in wait for them before motioning for the others to enter the door to the stairs. Entering the stairway it was quickly decided since Mulder knew where they were going he would lead the way up the stairs. Jack would take the follow-up position and Penny would help a still slightly out of it Scully in the middle. "Mulder you may have to use your sidearm, but only if it's absolutely necessary. We don't need the sound giving us away." Mulder got out his newly issued Beretta and nodded his agreement as he started up the stairs. Three flights and no alien appearances later they arrived at the door for the stellar cartography lab. It was another huge door. Jack yanked on the round metal knob but the door didn't budge. He again twisted and jiggled the knob, but nothing changed. He motioned for the others to stay back with a wave of the Zat gun in his hand and aimed for the top hinge. Jack thought blowing off the hinges would insure that the door would not cause a problem on the way back. He fired a second shot at the next hinge and at the same time a flash of green hit the floor on the ground beside Mulder. From his position under the stairwell Jack was at a bad angle and could not get a shot at the offender, so he threw the Zat to Mulder and instructed, "Just point and shoot." Mulder did as directed and was rewarded by an alien falling from above to hit the landing near the door. Jack took the Zat and fired twice more disintegrating the body before they could inhale the toxic fumes escaping the green ooze leaking onto the floor in front of them. As soon as the alien disappeared and Jack was sure there were no others following behind, he enlisted Mulder and they pushed at the bottom of the door, making the top tilt toward them. The solid metal creaked and groaned as it gave way from its' frame. Jack and Mulder caught the falling door and then with some effort and Penny's help, to hold it steady, leaned it against the wall on the landing. Entering into a dark passageway the group made careful progress toward an opening at the far end. Once there, they discovered an observatory with a huge domed ceiling. Jack went in first and checked for any signs of aliens, seeing none, he motioned for the rest of the group to join him. Looking around they observed that most of the walls were covered with round star charts of different galaxies. The farthest wall from the door had what appeared to be a huge rectangular liquid computer screen, which was projecting map images. Seeing the screen Penny made her way toward it, it was just as Sam and Brian had described. She reached out and touched the round blue symbol representing Earth. The map opened like a sort of a trip tik and showed the route from the Muspelheim planet back to Earth. From the coordinates on the map and the earth time of the next available sun flare she would be able to figure out which chevron on the DHD to attach the Yerzaman. Jack had joined Penny at the map while Mulder kept an eye on Scully and the entrance. "What are we looking at here?" He inquired. Penny looked at Jack and then pointed at the straight map line, "This is the route back, can you help me identify the constellations on the map and which chevrons they represent? Like this one," she said pointing at the piece of paper in her hand, "is that this?" She pointed to a cluster of stars on the map. Jack looked at the paper and then looked at where Penny was pointing. "Yes, that's that and this one is right here," he said looking at the next symbol on the paper and then pointing up at the wall map. They continued in this fashion until they had identified each of the chevrons with their corresponding map coordinates. With Jack's help finding the information on the map, she started entering the calculations into the small hand-held computer. Scully had wandered away from Mulder and over to where Penny and Jack were standing looking more aware of what was going on and more than a little curious. It always helped when Penny talked things through out-loud. She had some of the biggest "A-HA" moments while teaching at the Academy. In fact, it had been during an explanation to one of her classes that she had figured out the Q Calculation in the first place. Penny started explaining to her audience how the calculations worked. "You know those old time, rate, distance problems you used to do in Algebra, Train A leaves Chicago at a certain time traveling a certain speed while Train B leaves New York at a certain time and traveling a certain speed, when will they intersect? The Q calculation is just a little more in complicated version of that. Sam and Brian basically did all the work. They gave me the rates, times and distances, all I just need to figure out isthe intersection and what constellation the time-like curve will form from." "I hated those problems." Jack said, making Penny chuckle. Penny took the times for the flares from a piece of paper in her pocket and then looked at her watch. She had to be precise in attaching the Yerzaman, if not the time-like curve, created by the sun's flare, could take them either back to the past or into the future depending on how much her calculations were off. As soon as she had finished, she again touched the screen in front of her returning it to its original state. She turned to her companions. "Ok, I've figured out two times for us to return home, but we have to hustle if we want to catch the first one. It happens in less than fifty minutes." "When's the next one?" Jack asked.   
"You don't want to know," came her reply. "Ah, let's make tracks so we can get outta Dodge then." Jack said. No sooner than the words were out of Jack's mouth they heard shouts in a foreign tongue and the sound of feet pounding and echoing past above their heads. They hurried down the dark passageway that led to the open doorway and the stairs. Jack stuck his head out and strained to see if anyone was on the landing just above. Seeing no one he motioned for Mulder, Scully and Penny to follow and then led them down the stairs. The stairwells were lit with an eerie reddish glow that had not been there on the trip up. It was coming from high above them. As they proceeded down the stairs, they could hear doors banging, more shouting and then silence. As they reached the second landing, there was a green flash beside Mulder and a chunk of the railing disintegrated. Someone was firing at them from above. Jack cursed and motioned for the others to get out of the line of fire, they pressed against the wall for minimum exposure. Jack with the Zat at the ready aimed the gun upwards, scanning to see their attackers. No further shots came but the noise level increased with footfalls on the stairs somewhere above their position. Jack surmised that in a few seconds aliens ascending from the level below and those descending from above would surround them. He motioned for Mulder to take position beside him. He pulled out a grenade and handed Mulder the Zat. "I'll take care of the aliens headed down with this." He said raising the grenade. "You take Penny and Scully down the stairs and take out any aliens climbing up with the Zat. Just hit them with one shot that will neutralize them and give you all enough time to get out. I'll be working clean up behind you. If I get too far behind make sure you check out the intersecting corridors before leaving the stairwells. Hopefully, I'll blow these guys up and be there in a sec to help out. Go, go, go." He said as the aliens appeared at the top of the stairway. Mulder, Penny and Scully hurried down, Jack waited until they rounded the corner before he threw the grenade. The stairway exploded before him in a gust of smoke and debris. Knocked off of his feet by the concussion of the blast, Jack quickly recovered and pulled his P90 from his belt while searching with his eyes through the dusty air to see if any of the aliens had survived the detonation. Seeing none he dusted himself off and ran down the stairs after his companions. Catching up he found Penny and Scully stopped in the middle of the second to last flight of stairs waiting for Mulder to give the all clear. Jack motioned for them to follow him. "Stay close behind me. Penny watch our six, I think I got them all but keep your eyes peeled." As they rounded the last corner, they spotted Mulder about three yards ahead. Using the dividing wall between the stairways for cover they made their way to his position. He was methodically clearing the aliens one by one as they tried to ascend to his level on the stairway. Jack took position behind Mulder. He got a good look at the Muspelheim as they came at Mulder's position. They looked like the Asgard, gray, large heads, huge eyes, short in height but with long spindly legs. Jack watched as Mulder zatted the Alien in the lead up the stairway. Hitting his mark the alien tumbled down the stairs practically bowling over his remaining comrades. Mulder had such a rhythm going with the Zat in the narrow confines of the stairwell that the aliens could do little more than fire wild shots up in his direction. Jack readied his P90 to help. He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Jack, don't fire that. The toxic fumes from their blood in this stairway will kill us." Scully warned him. Damn, why hadn't he thought to bring two Zats. Jack assessed the situation and realized that Mulder had things pretty much under control. He peered over his shoulder looking to see how Penny was doing. No aliens were in pursuit. Once they were relatively sure that the Muspelheim presence had been cleared they progressed down the final staircase to the intersecting corridors by stepping gingerly over Zatted aliens lying in their path. Before heading out of the stairwells, Jack took the Zat and the point from Mulder. Looking both ways up and down the corridor, he found the hallway to be empty. Maybe they had used the brunt of their forces in the stairwells or they were lying in wait for them further up the line. He motioned for the others to move to the room in which they had found Scully earlier. Once in the safety of the room they ran to the huge door, Mulder and Jack muscled it open carefully. Still on the alert for any sign of a trap, they ran to the first landing. From their vantage point they could see the markers they had left shimmering as they dangled from the grated steel walkways all the way up to their vent shaft destination. Making their way up and over the metal steps and grated walkways at each level, they were vigilant in making sure no one was in pursuit. No one was following them; giving both Jack and Mulder the distinct feeling this part of their retreat was too easy. On the final landing Jack peered down the passageway, in the darkness he could barely make out movement of some sort. He thought it could be the pods moving on the conveyor again but for the second time in so many hours the hairs on the back of his neck signaled otherwise. In assessing the situation he decided his flashlight was not an option. He didn't want to draw attention if what he saw was more of the Muspelheim. He didn't want to let whoever was there know that he knew they were there. Instead, he motioned for the others to make their way to the vent hole. Jack shuffled a little to get a better look. It was still too dark. Suddenly, a hand burst through the darkness and grabbed his shoulder. Jack expected when he looked down to see long gray fingers but it wasn't an alien hand that had him it was a human hand. Jack dropped his Zat as he was pulled into the darkness. Mulder hearing the sound of the Zat hitting the floor turned in time to see Jack grabbed by the Alien Bounty Hunter - the same one he had dealt over the years. Jack managed to break free. Mulder saw no choice but to use his Beretta. Scully seeing the situation quickly took Penny's flashlight and shone it directly in the Bounty Hunter's eyes, disorienting him. Mulder yelled at Jack to stay down then aimed and fired. The bullet hit its target in the forehead. Unfortunately, the body fell forward landing on Jack. Green ooze poured from the wound. Jack started coughing and hacking, his eyes burning, as he pushed the dead weight off of his legs. As soon as he was clear Mulder picked up the Zat and disappeared the corpse of the bounty hunter; which reverted to alien form before it disintegrated. Scully ran over to Jack to check him out. She reached out and pulled Jack's hands away from his eyes, examining them she noted that they were red, and a little puffy but nowhere near the condition Mulder's had been in the first time he was exposed. "You'll be ok, you weren't exposed long enough to do any real damage. You'll just feel like you've been pepper sprayed for a while. Try not to rub you eyes, the tearing will help soothe them." Scully explained. "Thanks, good to know." Jack replied as he used the back of his hands to wipe the tears streaming down his cheeks. Penny who had been standing behind Mulder with her own gun aimed as backup, holstered it and looked at her watch. She quietly said, "Jack if you're ok we really need to go, or else we won't make the window." "Yeah, I'm fine let's get a move on." "Yeah it seems that we've worn out our welcome." Mulder said as he helped Jack to his feet. To which he got the classic O'Neill reply. "Ya think!" Deciding Jack wasn't in any condition with his eyes tearing to have another alien encounter, he would be the first out. He moved under the hole, grabbed the vent and pulled himself up as Mulder leveraged his feet and pushed him up and out. The air of the surface was warm, still and dry, but the overbearing heat of earlier had gone with the sunset. A blackout type darkness surrounded him. Taking a moment to let his stinging eyes adjust to the lack of light, he surveyed the area best he could. It was really too dark to see too far in the distance but as best he could tell there were no hostiles in the immediate area. Tapping the end of his flashlight on the vent wall he signaled to the others it was safe for them to come through to the surface. He reached his hand down and assisted Penny then Scully out of the vent shaft. After helping Jack through the vent Mulder had moved to stand at the edge of the passageway Penny and Scully were safely above ground then took up position under the vent and started the climb up. As he reached up to grab onto a hold in the vent shaft he heard footfalls on the metal stairway prompting him to hurry his ascent. He made it halfway up the hole with only his legs from the knee down hanging down when something reached out and grabbed his calf. Damn dj vu. He had flashes of being grabbed in his Artic rescue of Scully. Only this time Jack tugging at him from above and whatever had him by the legs pulling from below made him feel like Gumby. He yelled up at Jack to hold on tight as he kicked at the unknown assailant. Jack with Penny's help tugged his arms. Finally, he broke free and made it through the tunnel. As soon as Mulder had his feet on solid ground, he grabbed the Zat from Jack and shot down into the hole. The four sprinted from the wide-open area near the vent to the relative safety of the debris in the junkyard. Stopping only to take a brief accounting to make sure everyone was all right. With time growing short and having to navigate in the dark through the large debris field the group followed Jack's lead and flawless sense of direction as they double-timed it back to the Stargate. Reaching the Stargate with only a matter of minutes to spare, Penny placed the Yerzaman under the chevron as Sam and Brian had told her to do once she determined which was the correct one. They had two minutes to wait before the gate could be dialed. Scully looked around curiously. "Welcome to the Stargate, Scully. You are about to take one wild ride and this will be one time you will have to believe me." Mulder said as he winked at Scully. "Mulder I'm still not convinced that this isn't just a really bizarre dream." Scully laughed nervously. "Time." Penny called. Jack quickly dialed home on the DHD. "Good timing." Mulder pointed at the grayish blobs bouncing in the distance; that could only be the Muspelheim, closing in on their position. As the Stargate whooshed to life, little green shards of laser light puffed up the dirt all around them. Jack sent the code to open the Iris and seeing the green light he told Mulder and Scully to move out. Mulder took Scully by the hand and dove into the event horizon. Jack waited as Penny grabbed the Yerzaman from its place under the chevron and then they ran together into the whirlpool of the Stargate leaving the Muspelheim and their world behind. Cheyenne Mountain   
1994   
Stepping out of the Stargate, Jack fully expected General Hammond to be there waiting to kick his ass, but after about thirty seconds he realized they weren't where they were supposed to be. "Ah, damn it!" It looked like the gate had just been put into place. The ramp beneath his feet was made of wood, the room was huge and hangar-like, the control room hadn't been built and the only access seemed to be an elevator in the room's left-hand corner at it's far end. He turned around fully expecting the Stargate to disappear; as it had when SG1 had gone back to 1969, but it stayed right where it was. At least that was a good sign. Penny, Mulder and Scully were looking at Jack curiously not having the intimate knowledge of the Gateroom he had, they had no idea they were in the wrong place. Jack scanned the room and saw a computer on a table off to one side of the gate. The little orange light on the monitor indicated that it was hooked to a power source. He walked over and took a closer look at the gate. He could see wires hooked to the outer ring so he knew it also had a power source. He spoke for the first time. "Listen, we're not in Kansas anymore. I'm not sure where we are but this isn't home, well it is home but not our home, meaning our time." Penny stared at Jack eyes wide with disbelief. "You're sure?" Jack replied, "Yep, pretty damn sure." Horrified Penny looked at her companions. "I am so sorry..." she began.   
Jack held up his hand. "Penny don't. This is fixable, at least we're on Earth so let's not panic..." "Where do you think we are?"   
"I think we must have gone back in time. This" he said making a sweeping motion with his hand, " looks like pictures I've seen of the gate room when the project was first brought to Cheyenne Mountain. It 's about 1993 or 1994." "So how do we get back to our time? Penny?" Mulder asked. Penny looked at Mulder regarding his question. "We would have to use the same theory we used to get to the future, but we don't have sun flare times. I need to know the exact flare times, or I could just keep bouncing us around from time to time." "How do we calculate a flare time that hasn't occurred yet?" "Penny what is it you need to know?" Scully asked getting ready to roll up her sleeves and help. "Basically, I need an atmospherics report and data on recent solar activity then based on that and past activity I should be able to calculate the date and the exact time to engage the wormhole but it will take time and it's a lot more difficult from here...Oh wait, Project Q is in operation they should have some of the information we need. What I'd really like to know is how I sent us back instead of forward." The last sentence was said more to herself than to the others. "Wait Penny." Mulder interrupted. "Sam gave me this piece of paper it has times and dates on it. Could this be the solar flares?" Jack smiled shaking his head. "Remind me to put Carter up for a promotion. Got anything else, Mulder?" "No that was the last thing she gave me." Mulder replied. "That computer can give us the date and time, then we can see how long we have to wait for these flares." Jack said. Penny walked over and pushed the computer's power button. "Isn't it a bit odd that nobody's down here?" She asked waiting for the computer to boot. "From what I remember since this thing didn't work, security was not a big priority." Jack said nodding his head toward the gate. The computer whirred on. As soon as the screen came up Penny looked at the bottom corner to see the time then double clicked to find the date. "It's 0203, so I can see why the place is deserted." Jack, Mulder and Scully had joined Penny at the computer. "Here, here's the date." Penny said pointing at the screen. What dates and times are on Sam's paper?" "Let's see we've got 0331 with today's date, October 16, 1994." Jack looked troubled as he said the date out loud. "Jack you ok?" Penny inquired. "What...oh...Yeah, I'm ok, so we only have an hour and a half to wait. Do you need to do any other calculations to get us back home?" "No, but I still think it's important to know which of the variables I screwed up on the calculation to get us here instead of home, I was so sure I was right." She started to pull the small hand held computer out of her pocket so that she could refigure her last calculations but then looked at her watch and then at the computer clock then back at her watch. "Oh no, no, no, unbelievable my watch is wrong, it's one minute slow. Damn, that's why we went back in time, we powered up the gate a minute late. Of course, I can see why gate travel would screw up a normal watch...but this is an astronaut's watch and is supposed to..." Mulder interrupted Penny's self-rant. "Pen, you can't cry over spilt milk, we got Scully back, we're here on Earth, reasonably safe for the moment and we're going home in an hour and a half so quit beating yourself up." Mulder said gently to his friend. Jack nodded his agreement and then said. "We have one more little complication we're going to have to dial the gate by hand and that's going to make hitting the precise time slightly more difficult. Mulder, when the time comes you and I are going to have to dial this thing and it's heavy, let's give it a try so we'll know what we're dealing with." Mulder stepped off to the side of the platform with Jack. They grabbed the inner ring and then like contestants on the "Price Is Right" gave it a spin. After about three or four tries with Penny and Scully timing them, they got a feel for the device and we're fairly sure they would be able to dial it and hit the right time. Jack halted the practice spins by telling the others to, "get some rest. I'll keep an eye on the elevator." Mulder nodded then looked at the gate. He, Scully and Penny settled on the floor, quietly talking while Jack walked over to the far corner and sat by the elevator lost in thought. Jack could see the telephone on the table next to the computer, he could make one phone call and change his life. This had to be a test. "Jack you can't, I know you want to but you can't." Daniel appeared next to him just out of sight of the others. "Daniel, I could save his life." Jack said quietly. "I know, but you can't. It's already happened Jack, you can't change the past." Daniel said tenderly. "Damn it Daniel, it's not the past; right now, it hasn't happened and it won't for two more years yet. I could just leave myself a note like the one's Sam has left for us on this mission...what's so different about what we're doing and saving my son?" Jack's emotions were on the surface. "Jack I understand, I do..." Daniel's voice was full of sympathy, but Jack interrupted abruptly. "How could you understand? I don't think you do." "Jack, you don't think when we went back to 1969 that I didn't want to call or write or telegram my parents to stay far away from the New York Museum of Art, so I could save them and grow up with two loving parents rather than a string of abusive foster families? What you're doing right now is securing the future, not changing the past. Scully wasn't supposed to be taken. The Muspelheim tried to change the past you're just correcting things. If you save Charlie, what happens to the man that could go to Abydos and not care enough about himself to detonate a nuclear devise? Even though we found another way, you still had to believe it was a possibility. The fate of millions, no billions of people rested on your shoulders many times over the last eight years and without the events that took place in your life and I mean all of the events, you would not be who you are right now." Jack buried his head in his folded arms that were resting on top of his bended knees. He knew Daniel was right. "Daniel, leave me alone." He said quietly. Then a thought struck him; one of how often in the months since Daniel's ascension he had wanted his friend by his side. With his head still buried, he turned it slightly to see if Daniel had indeed left, he said. "Danny? Wait, stay, sit here with me." Daniel stayed even though he could feel the others looking for him. He only wished he were there in solid form so he could put his arms around Jack and comfort him. Mulder and Penny were filling Scully in on the events that had taken place since her abduction in the airplane graveyard. Scully was astonished. "I've actually been missing for over three months and when I disappeared you thought I was lost in time. It never occurred to you that I was abducted by aliens, Mulder?" Scully said in a teasing tone. "No time loss, no bright lights and no space craft what can I say Scully? Time travel seemed to be the best alternative." He smiled down at her. She shook her head.   
He continued, "At least I had the best quantum physicist helping me find you." Scully gave both Mulder and Penny a brilliant smile. "I'm not complaining. Thank you both." 

Penny smiled back. "I think the real hero is Jack. Who knows, what's in store for him when we get back. He could be court martialed. The gate is top secret, black ops. Apparently, he was convinced enough to take the risk because he believes that you both are key to stopping a future alien invasion." Scully glanced in Jack's direction no wonder he had seemed so stressed. "Great, I only wish someone would tell us exactly how we're supposed to do that." Mulder sighed. Penny looked at her watch, "It's 0325, and I think it's time." As she finished talking Jack had joined them. "Listen change in plan. The computer's hooked up to the Stargate so we can dial from there." He noted the puzzled looks he was receiving. "Don't ask how I know I just do." He walked over to the computer. From where Mulder, Penny and Scully sat it appeared as if he was listening to someone giving him instructions. Penny looked from Mulder to Scully. Mulder spoke up "Hey, he's gotten us this far I'm not going to doubt him now." Finished with his prep work Jack walked back over and knelt down. An action he decided immediately was a mistake when his knees protested. "Listen the gate is going to shake like a son of a bitch so it will get someone's attention. As soon I put in the last coordinate I'll send the code and then you guys hustle through. There will be guards in the Gateroom with guns pointed at you so don't make any sudden moves just wait at the top of the ramp I'll be right behind you, as soon as I clear the program. Ready." Jack stood gingerly and took his place at the computer entering the coordinates Daniel was feeding to him. At 0331 the gate activated, the whole room was shaking so bad it felt as if the mountain might come down on their heads. Jack ran over hit SG1's code watched for the green light and then gave Mulder, Scully and Penny signal to go as he ran back to the computer. Again, listening to Daniel's instructions he wiped everything he had done clean. Just as he finished deleting and headed toward gate, he heard the elevator coming down the shaft. He ran up the wood ramp, and before stepping into the event horizon he looked over to Daniel and said, "See you in six." Daniel looked puzzled. Jack smiled, see Danny boy you don't know everything. Cheyenne Mountain  
Present Day   
Jack popped out of the gate to find home, a little hostile but home none the less. Mulder, Scully and Penny had done as he instructed and waited at the top of the ramp for him. He moved in front of them so that the Security Forces surrounding them would have to shoot him before hitting one of them. General Hammond entered the gate room looking not pleased at all. "Colonel O'Neill you want to tell me why I shouldn't have you drawn and quartered right this very minute." "Sir, I can explain." The Colonel started but the General held his hand up. "Security, take Colonel O'Neill and his guests into custody. Escort them to the Infirmary for a post-mission exam and then directly to the briefing room." Jack thought about saying something but thought better of it and allowed the security team to lead him by the arm to the infirmary. An hour later Dr. Frazier and her staff cleared them and they were ushered to the briefing room. "That will be all." The General dismissed the Security Forces. Jack had given quite a bit of thought about what to tell the General. He decided that the truth was the way to go even if it meant a court martial. The effect on the future would remain an unknown and he wasn't sure how Mulder and Scully fit into the picture, but he had accomplished all of the mission objectives, so he supposed the rest would work itself out. The general took his seat at the head of the briefing room table. Jack waited for his commanding officer to speak. "Colonel, introduce me to these people." "Yes Sir, this is Fox Mulder formerly of the FBI, Dana Scully also formerly of the FBI and Lt. Colonel Penny McAllister, I believe you know. General, I believe if you let me tell you what happened you..." Jack stopped as the General again held up his hand. "Not necessary, Colonel, I already know what you did and why you did it. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have more of the pieces than you." The General continued despite the inquisitive looks he was receiving from around the table. "Right after you left, I had a visit from the Asgard. They explained about Dr. Scully's kidnapping and their Muspelheim cousins trying to change the timeline. What you don't know is why. What I'm about to tell you is classified and needs to remain in this room, understood." "Yes sir's," echoed around the table. "According to the Asgard this all goes back to Mr. Mulder's abduction. The Muspelheim realized after torturing and experimenting on Mr. Mulder that they had the wrong partner. You see, they had recently acquired the capacity to time travel on Earth using the sun's solar activity and a small device that they stole from the SGC in the future. Through time travel, they were shown their own defeat so they decided to set an elaborate plan in motion that spanned sixty years. They first went back to 1941 and took the Lucky Lib." Mulder and Penny looked pointedly at each other. "My father's Lucky Lib?" Penny questioned in a perplexed voice. "Yes, they had seen the story of the Lib in Mr. Mulder's mind during his imprisonment. Taking the Lucky Lib, they dropped it off in the airplane graveyard with a homing device built into the radio to be activated by Mr. Mulder. Now, when they dropped Mr. Mulder in that field in Montana they fully expected him to be revived in the form of what you call in your files a "super soldier"." The general said looking at Scully. She nodded. "The "new" Mulder was to lure Scully to the airplane graveyard on a case and activate the beacon so the Muspelheim could take Dr. Scully. No one would be the wiser because "new Mulder" would play the role of looking for his lost partner. Two things happened from the offset to foil their original plan; one, Dr. Scully was pregnant; something they hadn't foreseen. When they realized she was with child, they wanted the baby to be born because they thought he would be a true human/alien hybrid. Secondly," he said looking directly at Scully, "you buried Mulder. They fully expected you to realize he was still alive when you found him but not realize he was infected with the virus until it was too late and the transformation had occurred. Burying Mulder and then not unearthing him until Billy Miles' was discovered alive first then watching his transformation gave you time to figure out that something was not right which lead you to treat Mr. Mulder for the alien virus, stopping his transformation." All eyes were glued to the General as he continued. "The Muspelheim actually cut their losses at this point, not wanting to risk taking Dr. Scully and exposing the breadth of their operation to Mr. Mulder, even after Mr. Mulder left they were never too sure what he would remember from his time in captivity. The Asgard spy said that they decided to bide their time and take Dr. Scully closer to the planned invasion date but prior to her discovery." "What discovery?" Mulder asked.   
"Ah, Mr. Mulder, that the Asgard wouldn't reveal. Apparently, we have to get that one on our own." Both Mulder and Jack shook their heads. The general continued, " The whole idea was to figure out another way to separate Mr. Mulder and Dr. Scully which did happen, but they couldn't take Dr. Scully as long as she had William. That's when fate stepped in; it was actually a coincidence that you two ended up in that airplane graveyard. Mr. Mulder the Muspelheim placed a small chip under the scar tissue on your chest. It activated once you were near the plane drawing you to it. When you keyed the radio mic they homed in on your signal and took Dr. Scully. They flooded your brain with a new set of memories and intended for you to end up with only that set after they, well, for lack of a better term downloaded them. They encountered a problem with your brain chemistry and you ended up with conflicting sets of memories and you decided the ones with Scully were the correct ones. At that point, though, they just thought you'd get lost in a mire of time travel theory and even if you searched you would not find Dr. Scully. What they hadn't counted on was Dr. Jackson. His meeting Mr. Mulder and hearing his story was key. After his ascension he stumbled into a future; that because of hearing Mr. Mulder's story, he believed had been altered." Penny interrupted the General, "Wait, excuse me sir what does that mean Daniel ascended? He's not missing in action from a flash flood?" "Sir, with your permission I'll tell her later." "Permission granted Colonel." Penny gave Jack a curious look. "Now where was I, oh yes, Dr. Jackson, armed with the certainty that the future he had seen was wrong because of Dr. Scully's disappearance, he convinced you, " he said glancing at Jack, "to help Lt. Colonel McAllister and Mr. Mulder rescue Dr. Scully." Jack smiled, "Count on Daniel to go where angels fear to tread." "I have to agree with you there, Colonel, and I know someone else like that but we'll get to that later." The general said leveling a look at the Colonel. "Without Dr. Scully's abduction we would not have known about the Muspelheim changing the timeline nor would the Asgard have been able to put measures in place to stop the Muspelheim from any repeat performances. What we need to decide now is how to proceed. Obviously, we need to be able to keep in contact with Mr. Mulder and Dr. Scully. Earth is not out of the woods, we need Dr. Scully to make that discovery and secure a future free of alien invasion. Lt. Colonel McAllister your transfer to the Stargate Project will be effective immediately." "Yes sir." Penny beamed.   
"Mr. Mulder what are your immediate plans?" The General asked. "I guess my immediate plans are to keep Scully safe and to stay one step ahead of the people trying to kill me." Mulder answered. Scully reached over and took his hand under the table and squeezed his fingers. "Mr. Mulder, Dr. Scully I have read the files that pertain to you and I think you are in desperate need of someone to watch your back. I have a suggestion that I would like for you to consider. Instead of constantly running and looking over your shoulder we would like to hide you in plain sight. We could provide you with jobs, not here at the SGC but at the Air Force Academy. Mr. Mulder, I believe you are qualified to teach any number of psychology courses and Dr. Scully they could use a good doctor at the Academy Hospital or you could do research. We will, of course, have to provide you with new names, but your back grounds would pretty much remain the same with a couple of exceptions." As General finished, Mulder ever the suspicious one questioned the General's motives. "Why would you do this for us? What do you want from us?" He was surprised when Jack not the General answered. "Because if you are the key to stopping a future alien invasion we need to be able to find you at a moments' notice. We want to know what you may already know and that could be of great value in saving Earth from her enemies." Jack finished. "I couldn't have put it better myself Colonel. We would like to debrief you on all the information you've managed to gather about these aliens and their earthly conspirators. And from time to time you may be called on to help the SGC." The general looked from Mulder to Scully. This time it was Scully who asked. "What if we choose to leave? Will the SGC just let us walk out?" "Yes, but you go with the condition that you either let us know where you are or how we can reach you. If you are hesitant about giving us the information for fear of your safety, I would even agree to let Colonel O'Neill and Lt. Colonel McAllister be your SGC contacts. You would also have to sign a non-disclosure agreement about the Stargate and we would expect you to honor that agreement. I hope that you will give my first offer serious consideration, though. Life on the run can be hazardous at best and let me explain you are not only trying to avoid your old enemies you have some new ones now that you know about the Stargate, the SGC would try to protect you, but you'd make our jobs a lot easier if you would just hide here." General Hammond answered honestly. Mulder looked at Scully in silent communication. "We need to talk this over. Is there somewhere we could go and talk?" Hammond nodded at Jack. Jack strode over to the door and asked the Sergeant securing it to step inside. "Sergeant, please escort Mr. Mulder and Dr. Scully to Dr. Jackson's old office." Mulder and Scully smiled at Jack and Penny as they followed the Sergeant out of the briefing room. "Lt. Colonel you know Mulder what do you think he will do?" "It's hard to say, General, Sir. Mulder doesn't trust very easily, but then again I don't think he wants to drag Scully around from pillar to post either. If I were a betting person, I'd say they're going to stay. I think the biggest carrot for Mulder was when you said the SGC may need them from time to time. Curiosity always gets the best of Mulder, Sir." Penny smiled at the General. "Thank you, Lt. Colonel. Would you please wait outside for a moment?" He asked. "Yes sir."   
General Hammond waited until Penny had exited the room. Jack knew what was coming. "Colonel you are damn lucky the Asgard stepped in or you'd be looking a whole very long list of charges at your court martial. You want to tell me what exactly you think you were doing risking the security of this program, not to mention this facility." "Sir, for my actions I take complete responsibility, it all happened so fast and you must admit your hands would have been tied and I was convinced it was the right thing to do." "Jack, you know I trust you and your judgment. I know how you got the information thanks to the Asgard, but you still haven't told me why you chose to act on your own." Jack sighed. "Look it actually sounds crazy when I say it out loud, when Daniel came to me; in I guess a dream or something, and told me to help Mulder because it was important to the future of Earth, I questioned Mulder about Scully. He confirmed what I had dreamed so I investigated further and found out what I could about Mulder, it all turned out to be legit. We had a small window of opportunity and at first I thought it involved rescuing Scully from the past, so that coupled with the fact that Daniel; him being a higher being or whatever these days had said that no one else should be involved was what I considered reason enough for secrecy and I went for it." Jack looked the General in the eye. The General had great respect for the Colonel sitting across from him, but could not simply let the incident go unpunished no matter what the reason. "Jack," the General's tone had softened considerably from earlier. "I can't have my best people going off half-cocked, no matter what the reason or how trustworthy the source of the information seems, you know that. Now thanks to the Asgard, I know your visit from Dr. Jackson was the real thing, but what if it had been the Muspelheim trying to get to you somehow. I have to give you a week off, suspension, but due to the sensitive nature of the material it will not be noted in your file. I know it's pointless but I going to say it anyway let's not have a repeat, Colonel." "No sir and Thank you sir." Jack said. A soft knock on the door sounded. "Come." General Hammond ordered. The door opened Mulder and Scully entered the room. "General, Colonel, we've talked it over and we've decided we'd like to stay here in Colorado Springs at least for the time being." Mulder told them. "Fine, I'll make to arrangements, we can find you some accommodations until your paperwork is ready." "General if it's ok with you we'd like to stay with Penny...uh; Lt. Colonel McAllister, until that time. That'll be fine. I'll call you tomorrow with your instructions." "Thank you." Mulder said. He turned so that he and Scully could go meet Penny, but Scully held his arm. "Colonel O'Neill, Thank you. I know you took a huge risk rescuing me and I hope you're not in too much hot water." Scully said looking pointedly at the General. "Not too much Dr. Scully, thanks." Jack winked at her. She and Mulder exited the briefing room. Six Months Later   
Brian let himself in to Penny's apartment. He could hear the sound of running water. Walking through the living room and down the hall toward the sound, he summoned his courage; Penny had spent most of the last nine months just being his friend not allowing their relationship to step over the boundary that it had once traversed. He had thought after Lynn's passing, Penny would relent but each time he broached the subject all she would say is that he needed time to mourn. In his heart, he felt like he had mourned; his wife had been lost to him for over two years. Officially, she had at last been allowed to rest. Her parents had finally accepted that the daughter they loved was not the woman being artificially kept alive. It had been hard but they loved Brian and realized that he would not be able to move on with his life while their daughter was in this limbo. One more set of extensive tests showed that Lynn's condition remained unchanged. She had no brain function. With the help of Dr. Haley, Brian and Lynn's parents had let her go and laid her to rest. All of this had happened five months ago just one month after both he and Penny had been suddenly transferred to the Stargate Project. In the succeeding months, working side-by-side on the secret project had just made Brian want Penny that much more. He knew she still loved him it was in her eyes every time she looked at him when she thought he wasn't looking. So when he noted a small drop in her defenses as of late he decided to take drastic measures. The perfect opportunity presented itself when she informed him after qualifying on the gun range that she was going home and taking a hot shower to rinse away the grimy feeling of gunpowder residue. Steam escaped from the open bathroom door, he stepped over the pile of cloths that lie in the middle of the floor. He quietly shed his own and dropped them letting them commingle with those already there. He hadn't meant to scare her but he saw her start when she heard the metal hooks of the shower curtain pulling across the metal rod. "Oh my god Brian, you scared the crap out of me." "I'm sorry," Brian said as he peeked around the edge of the curtain, then asked, "is there room for two in there?" "Brian." She said his name like a warning. He repeated his question. "Is there room for two in there?" Penny sighed. She was tired from months of fighting her true feelings for him. She wanted nothing more than for him to join her, "I give up, in your case I'll make an exception." He grinned as he pulled the curtain back more and stepped in. She moved aside so that he could stand under the water. As he tilted his head back to wet his hair, she took the opportunity to look, really look at his body. Her eyes traveled from his broad shoulders down the muscled expanse of his chest and stomach to his cock, resting in a nest of wiry dark curls. With rivulets of water running over his face, he opened one eye and then the other, "What are you looking at?" She moved closer, until their bodies were a mere inch from touching. "You." He closed the distance remaining between them pressing into her, she could feel his growing erection against her hip. His hand reached around to the back of her neck to tilt her face up for a kiss. Opening her mouth to him, she slid her tongue into his mouth, allowing it to dance with his. She took his cock in her hand; it was full, long and ready for her. Moisture pooled between her legs, her center throbbing. He turned her so that her back was to the tile wall. With her back resting on the wall he lifted her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist and slide down onto his erection. Once in place he moved forward and thrust into her. "I've missed you." She whispered in his ear. He smiled and said, "Mission accomplished," then recaptured her mouth with his own as he made another thrust. 

* * *

It had been a long day at the hospital a long soak in a hot bath would feel good Scully thought as she opened the door to the apartment she shared with Mulder. Jack had been generous enough to let them sublet Daniel's apartment with the understanding that Daniel's furnishings and fish were part of the deal. Mulder wouldn't be home for an hour or so, just long enough for a relaxing soak. It seemed that she had no more than settled into the steamy hot water of the tub when she heard Mulder calling her name.   
"Scully?"  
"In here Mulder in the tub." She called to him.   
"Hey, you ok, you sound strange." He said from the other side of the door.   
"I'm fine Mulder just fell asleep in the tub." She was out of the tub and wrapping a towel around her as she opened the door to greet Mulder.   
"Guess who I road up on the elevator with?" Mulder asked moving into the bathroom.   
"Who?" She responded.  
"Who, what?" Mulder said a bit distracted at the sight of Scully in her towel. Scully raised an eyebrow and gave Mulder the look.   
"Who'd you ride up in the elevator with?"   
"Oh, Brian."  
Scully nodded knowingly then asked. "Do you think he stands a chance?"   
Mulder looked thoughtfully. "She's been softening a bit but your guess is as good as mine."   
"Penny loves him Mulder, I hope they work it out." Scully said. Penny had become like family to them and they both wanted what was best for her.   
"I'm going to get something to drink you want anything?" Mulder asked.   
"Yes, ice tea, I made some, it's in the fridge. I'll just get dressed and join you in a sec then we can think about dinner."   
"Don't feel you have to get dressed on my account Scully." Mulder leered as he left the room, leaving Scully a little concerned. Normally, that kind of leer would have had her towel hitting the floor and she and Mulder horizontal in less than thirty seconds. She had thought something was on Mulder's mind this morning; now she was sure of it. Leaving for work he had shrugged off her attempts to find out what by saying he was distracted by work. Scully didn't buy his excuse but she figured that Mulder would eventually tell her. She quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and a white tee and went to the kitchen to join Mulder but found that the apartment was dark and there was no Mulder to be seen. As she turned from the kitchen she saw flicker of light; that she failed to notice on her way to the kitchen. It was coming from the small balcony just off the living room.   
"Mulder?" she queried as she walked toward the French doors that led to the balcony. "So what are you doing Mulder?" She asked as she opened the doors to find Mulder busy lighting candles.   
"We're celebrating Scully."  
"Celebrating what?" Scully said sidetracked at the sight of Mulder lighting little votive candles all around the balcony. Mulder gave her a strange look as he moved to lean against the balcony railing in the twilight. The sky in front of him looked as if it had been lit by the embers of a giant fire.   
"Life." He said and closed his eyes, as a light spring breeze stirred to clear his head.   
"Mulder, are you ok?" She said worriedly, it was not too often that Mulder was completely still. He turned and smiled down at her.   
"Fine, Scully just thinking, come over here." She complied, and he turned her to face forward, looking into the spectacular sunset against the mountains to the west. He pressed her gently to the rail, as he stood right behind her. She leaned back into his embrace, gently pressing her back against his chest. He pushed forward slightly against her and spoke softly into her ear.   
"Scully, I realized today that we're still here; we've made it together to another spring." All of a sudden Scully knew the significance of the day; it had been two years since Mulder had miraculously come back from the grave, how could she have forgotten. Mulder continued.   
"I don't know, I was thinking about destiny. Our destiny changed when I was taken and then brought back to life and then again when the Muspelheim took you." His hands gripped he arms as he mentioned the aliens. "We're not supposed to be Melvin and Schuyler Haley, but we are. Our lives have taken so many twists and turns and with the exception of the past six months we've lived in almost constant turmoil because of this quest of ours. While you were missing Penny said to me that hope dies last and maybe that's what this is, I'm hoping to give you some semblance of a normal life, but it doesn't feel quite real. I realize Melvin and Schuyler are necessary for our safety and we have to keep up our faade, but at the same time I want something real Scully. I can't change or be anything, but what I am. And Scully, everything I am is in love with you. So would you do me the honor of becoming my wife for real?"   
Tears brimmed in Scully's eyes as she absorbed what Mulder was saying. "And I love you." She leaned her head back slightly to look up at Mulder.   
Then being the ever-practical one and thinking of their safety she asked, "but how could we?"   
Mulder smiled. "Scully you just say yes and I'll figure out all the rest."   
"Yes." Slowly he slid his hands from their resting place on her arms and found her hands with his and gently touched her fingertips. Then their fingers intertwined. Moving slowly, their fingers caressed through and around each other like the bodies of two lovers. Mulder tipped his face forward, letting the scent of her wash over him, until his cheek is against her ear. Scully turned her head until her lips were near his. Turning further, she found his mouth with hers. His arms enveloped her from behind, and they kissed with her head turned and tilted back, surrendering to him, to the emotion, to the inevitable. They kissed, slowly and tremulously, and with building passion.   
Breaking the kiss, Scully whispered, "Maybe we should take our celebration inside."   
Mulder smiled. "Lead the way." Scully took Mulder's hand and led him indoors.   
As the French doors closed to the balcony, across the street at ground level a man moved out behind a tree and quickly put what looked like a camera into the bag he was carrying on his shoulder. Securing the bag he swiftly walked down the street and around the corner to a black sedan parked against the curb.

* * *

Daniel Jackson woke up disoriented in a space that was dark and cramped. Raising both hands to his head, he pressed his fingertips to his pounding temples. An eerie glow was filtering to him through the darkness. With his vision a little blurry, obviously related to the pounding in his temples, Daniel struggled to sit up and adjust his eyes so that he could focus on his location. Looking around, he did not recognize his surroundings. He found the source of the dim light was a hole high above his head and a larger source of light was approximately sixty yards in front of him. As he became more oriented, he started to move around bumping his head on the rock protruding beside him for his efforts. Pressing the bump with his fingers, it suddenly dawned on him that he was flesh, bone and blood not energy. The next thought struck him like a bolt of lightning, through the fog and the pain in his head memories came flooding back, he had just returned from the future. He and Jack were running up a hill toward a Stargate, the loud rolling thunder of artillery shells closing in from the distance. We have to hurry. Shaking his head to clear the memory - he had to focus. Where was he? He figured out he was in a cave but where? Gingerly he got to his feet and slowly made his way to the cave entrance. As he exited the cave the heat of the outside air hit him and wrapped like a hot moist towel around his body. He closed his eyes to the glare giving them time to adjust to the bright greenish morning light. As he stood waiting his mind wandered to the last memory he had before waking in the cave. _Dancing...dancing was the last thing he remembered. A slight smile played on his lips as he remembered Jack gently holding him in his arms, their foreheads touching, his arms around Jack's neck, and a paper's width separating their gently swaying bodies as they danced around the floor. Dancing with Jack?_ The thought perplexed Daniel, he tried to remember more but the rest of the memory eluded him so he opened his eyes. He couldn't think about that now. Shading his eyes with his hand, he started walking down hill. About halfway down, he noticed two greenish colored suns coming up over the hills to the east. Scanning his surroundings he found he was completely surrounded by grayish colored sand and small jagged rocks as far as the eye could discern. At that moment it dawned on him that he was completely alone. He was on an unknown planet, in an unknown galaxy. The realization sent him to sit down on the nearest available rock. "Great now what?" He muttered to himself. _Jack, help me!_ He shouted in his mind.

* * *

"Daniel!" Jack shouted as he sat straight up waking with a start.

End   
  


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